Roger Federer Reveals Big Difference Between Him and Rafael Nadal While Recalling Knee Injury That Forced Him to Retire

Roger Federer suffered a knee injury in 2021 and played only five tournaments that year.

Roger Federer Reveals Big Difference Between Him and Rafael Nadal While Recalling Knee Injury That Forced Him to Retire

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer (Image via X/TNT Sports)

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Roger Federer‘s knee injury that he suffered in 2021 eventually forced him to retire. Federer chose the Laver Cup the following season to hang up his racket.

In 2021, the Swiss maestro participated in just five tournaments, the last of which was at Wimbledon, losing to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets. The following season, the Laver Cup was his first as well as his last tournament. There, along with Nadal, they played their last official match of their careers, losing it to Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.

The eighth edition of the Laver Cup is underway. Federer is in San Francisco and sat for an interview with Andy Roddick for his Served podcast, and was asked about his knee injury.

And I felt with some back issues and hand stuff, foot things but never to the extent like the knee at that end and it’s really only once you’ve maybe had surgery or you’re out for extended periord of time, you really start being really unbelievable appreciative or how good you used to feel and how unworried you were running for a ball across the court and like stopping on a dime all of a sudden you’re taking, your’e thinking everything through every possible moment of the match, you know.

Federer never retired mid-match. But he admitted that in many matches, he did play with 100 percent fitness. One thing about Nadal surprises him a lot. Keeping his injury problem a secret was part of Federer’s tactics, but Nadal was always honest about his injury issues.

And I’ve always been the kind of player or person that I didn’t want my either my opponent or the world or the press needing to know about every step of the way or my injuries, but also to protect myself, I guess to a certain level that my opponent doesn’t know like, ‘Okay, bad knee, really bad knee, and so I’m going to make him run around’. Whereas on the other side, Rafa was super honest about his issues, and I’d be like, Why is he saying all of that?

Roger Federer added

Nadal retired at the Davis Cup last year after Spain’s 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands. The 22-time Grand Slam champion lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in his career’s final match.

Roger Federer wants the Laver Cup in South America

The inaugural edition of the Laver Cup was held in Prague in 2017. The cities for the next editions were: Chicago, Geneva, Boston, London, Vancouver, and Berlin. Roger Federer has already imagined what will happen if the tournament is held in South America. The tennis world already knows how Joao Fonseca attracts fans when he plays in South America.

Roger Federer
Roger Federer (Image via X/Tennis Channel)

Asia also probably would not be a bad move… I would go to South America. Imagine this in South America with Joao on the team.

Roger Federer told Tennis Channel

Fonseca made his Laver Cup debut this year and defeated Team Europe’s Flavio Cobolli. He won’t be playing either in singles or doubles on the final day.

After clinching the 2024 Next Gen ATP Finals, Fonseca lifted his career’s first ATP title by defeating Francisco Cerundolo in the Rio Open. He also made his Grand Slam main draw debut this year, reaching two second rounds (Australian Open and the US Open) and two third rounds (French Open and Wimbledon).

Fonseca won’t be playing another match, which means tennis fans will have to wait for the Fonseca versus Carlos Alcaraz clash. The 19-year-old has never faced the six-time Grand Slam champion or Jannik Sinner. He is backed by many to join Alcaraz and Sinner to form another Big 3.

Also read: Joao Fonseca Relishing the Laver Cup Experience After Raising Team World’s Morale With Key Victory on Day 1