“I lost at the very first point of the match,” Roger Federer reveals how he felt intimidated by Rafael Nadal during the legendary 2008 Wimbledon final

He said he got intimidated by Nadal at SW19 after easily losing to him at the 2008 Roland Garros 6–1, 6–3, 6–0. 


“I lost at the very first point of the match,” Roger Federer reveals how he felt intimidated by Rafael Nadal during the legendary 2008 Wimbledon final

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal (Images via Imago, X)

For Roger Federer, winning was everything, especially when he played at Wimbledon, which is why his loss to Rafael Nadal in 2008 Wimbledon hurt him badly. During his commencement speech at Dartmouth College in the United States, Federer recalled that match to explain how sometimes even hard work doesn’t help. 

Federer, while referencing the 2008 Wimbledon match against Nadal, tried to explain to the students that failures don’t necessarily end everything if one has the courage to get up, move on, and commit to the next goal. He said he got intimidated by Nadal at SW19 after easily losing to him at the 2008 Roland Garros 6–1, 6–3, 6–0. 

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I feel like I lost at the very first point of the match. I looked across the net and I saw a guy who, just a few weeks earlier, crushed me in straight sets at the French Open, and I thought… this guy is maybe hungrier than I am… And he’s finally got my number. It took me until the third set before I remembered… hey, buddy, you’re the five-time defending champion! 
Roger Federer said during his commencement speech

It was the first match Federer lost after winning continuously for five years at Wimbledon. The eight-time Wimbledon champion then asserted that in tennis no one is perfect, that even if he looked effortless and elegant, there was hard work behind the scenes that made him look that way.

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Roger Federer says he learned more about life outside tennis courts

Roger Federer recalled the time when he was young and focused only on tennis. But he knew that there lies a big world outside the courts and so, even though he worked a lot to be better inside that small space, he never forgot to value other important things in his life. 

Roger Federer
Roger Federer (Image via Imago)
But even when I was in the top five… it was important to me to have a life… a rewarding life, full of travel, culture, friendships, and especially family… I never abandoned my roots, and I never forgot where I came from… but I also never lost my appetite for seeing this very big world.
Roger Federer said 

Federer retired in September 2022 after the Laver Cup match in which he played doubles with Rafael Nadal. In his career, the Swiss maestro has lifted 20 Grand Slam trophies and has a 1251–275 win-loss record. He also won the gold medal in doubles along with Stan Wawrinka in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

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