It’s said that true champions can make everyone around them better. Apparently, Roger Federer can also make them consider coming out of retirement.
Former No. 1 Martina Hingis had an “informal conversation” with Federer’s camp about the two Swiss stars playing as a mixed doubles pair in the 2012 London Olympics, Phil de Picciotto, the Octagon president of athletes & personalities and one of her agents, confirmed via email to SI.com after reports reports surfaced of the potential pairing.
Though de Picciotto said it’s “premature for Martina to think about the Olympics,” Swiss Tennis president René Stammbach told SI.com that he will be sitting down in August and “having conversations with the parties involved on that potential subject,” indicating the possible Federer-Hingis pairing is being taken seriously at the highest levels of the federation. Additionally, the Swiss Olympic Association — which said that it, too, had heard the chatter — will be meeting with Federer’s team early next week to discuss in detail the 16-time Grand Slam champion’s Olympic plans, including the “question about Martina Hingis.”
