A Day With Roger Federer: A Tennis Ambassador’s Work Is Never Done

Roger Federer taking photos with fans at Millennium Park in Chicago on Monday as he was promoting the Laver Cup.CHICAGO — Day was breaking in the California desert, and Roger Federer was yawning on the tarmac.

How much sleep?

“Five hours,” he said. “Not enough after a match like that.”

The final of the BNP Paribas Open had indeed been quite a test: a 2-hour-42-minute duel with Juan Martín del Potro that was out of tune with Federer’s crescendo season. He ended up losing in a lopsided third-set tiebreaker after serving for the title and holding three match points at 5-4 in the final set.

“It’s always disappointing when you lose having had match points,” Federer said. “I think I was a bit lucky…