Roger Federer's countless fans did not have enough of him on his rare Indian sojourn and the Swiss superstar reciprocated their feelings saying that one day he would travel the "beautiful country in a big way".
How much the Indian fans love Federer was in full display on the final day of the Indian Premier Tennis League yesterday when he beat his world number one rival Novak Djokovic in a one off set amid a roaring crowd rooting for his win.
He had asked his Twitter followers to photoshop him around the country, drawing 'hilarious' suggestions. Most of his two days in Delhi were spent on court and hotel but it was enough to overwhelm him.
"The great moments I spent here will forever be in my memory. Thank you New Delhi! Tremendous crowd support! Forever grateful," he posted in the wee hours of today before leaving India.
Around five hours before his parting tweet, he spoke at length about his India experience.
"Photoshop was so much fun. It was crazy reading it on the timeline. It was like 'are you serious'? said Federer after his night match against Djokovic.
"I really enjoyed it (being in India). Unfortunately I could not do much of those trips (as suggested on Twitter) but I know that one I will definitely travel India in a big way. I hope to get the company of some locals while I am travelling India. There is much to see. I want to come with family and hopefully we can do it in peace. I would really like to travel this beautiful country," said Federer drawing a cheerful laughter from the media men.
Did he expect that he is revered here? So much so that most at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium would support him over someone like a Djokovic.
"Of course I did. I am in the Indian aces team," he quipped.
Then he said what makes him an adoring figure around the world.
"My fans are the ones who support me the most. They know how much I appreciate their support. I don't really scream about it all the time and they know it. But If they don't know and they are insecure that I didn't appreciate, or I didn't see the banner, I didn't see the flags, didn't see the t-shirt, I wanna tell them I did and I really loved it. And that is why I came here. I loved it. I can't thank them enough."