Rafael Nadal admits that “a part of his life” left with Roger Federer’s retirement as he relishes the memories spent with him
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Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer - FirstSportz
Swiss legend Roger Federer is regarded as one of the greatest players in the sport who has influenced people with his hard work, patience, and chivalrous behavior. He retired with 103 ATP titles, the second most in the history of tennis, including 20 Grand Slam titles in his career of 24 years. He played his farewell match at the Laver Cup alongside his good friend Rafael Nadal, but lost the match to Team Europe’s Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock.
His farewell was one of the most emotional nights in the history of tennis, as it left everyone in tears present in the stadium, including his arch-rivals. But what caught everybody’s attention was the way the Mallorcan was inconsolable during the whole farewell. He had flown down to London especially to be a part of Federer’s farewell, leaving his pregnant wife back home.
Both have played against each other 40 times, with Nadal leading 24–16 overall, including 14–10 in finals. With the passing of time, they went ahead to share a great camaraderie and have even developed a mutual respect for each other. Rafael Nadal opened up about his feelings for the former World No 1’s retirement, which touched him. He admitted that a part of him has left with Roger Federer’s retirement, which led to the outburst of emotions.
“Someone I have admired, who I have rivaled, and also have shared many beautiful things on and off the court was leaving. In that sense, all those moments, those feelings you have before playing a final of a Grand Slam, of an important tournament, everything that was in the air before those matches. It was different from other matches,” said the 22-time Grand Slam champion.
Continuing his train of thought, he further added, “You know you’re not going to live that again and a part of my life left with him (when he retired). It was also the emotion of saying goodbye to someone who has been so important to our sport,”
Roger Federer walks down memory lane as he paid a visit to Wimbledon
Post his retirement, he appeared at an exhibition event in Tokyo organized by his sponsor Uniqlo. Roger Federer had talked about his plans of taking up the role of a coach but admitted that it won’t happen in the near future. He had denied appearing at the Swiss Indoors as he stated that he wasn’t ready emotionally to go through another farewell.
He has been the most successful at Wimbledon since he is an 8-time champion. After his retirement, he made an appearance at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club to reminisce about all his moments. He even posted about his visit on his social media account and seemed excited to be back at his most loved place, though he stands no chance to be back on the court once again.
The former six-time Australian Open champion had been absent from the tennis court since Wimbledon in 2021 since he had undergone knee surgery that kept him out for months. Roger Federer had appeared at the 100th-anniversary celebration event of the Center Court in London, where he had talked about coming back one more time if everything goes well. But his sudden retirement announcement shocked many people around the world.
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Prateek Pradhan
(601 Articles Published)