Roger Federer shows his admiration for Rafael Nadal by saying that he will miss Rafa at the upcoming Roland-Garros

The retired tennis legend showered his formal on-court rival with praises and expressed that he'll miss seeing the Spaniard at the French Open.

Roger Federer shows his admiration for Rafael Nadal by saying that he will miss Rafa at the upcoming Roland-Garros

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer (Image via Sky Sports)

Rafael Nadal recently withdrew from the French Open for the first time since 2004. ‘The King of Clay’ has always been dominant in the French Open tournaments, winning it a record 14 times. He was also the winner in 2022. Nadal has been out with an injury since the Australian Open and might not come back to tennis until 2024 due to his slow recovery progress.

Roger Federer expressed that he will surely miss his long-term rival turned friend, Rafael Nadal, in the 2023 French Open. Federer hopes that Nadal will make his comeback in strong fashion and be back to competing at the very top.

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Roger Federer has faced Rafael Nadal in the Roland-Garros six times, with the Spaniard coming out victorious in every one of them. Federer took to social media to answer a question about Nadal’s absence and whether will he miss him at the French Open. Federer wrote, “Yes I will miss seeing him play. French Open + @RafaelNadal = one of the most incredible records in history of all sports,”.

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“I’m happy for him that he’s giving himself the necessary time so that he can come back healthy and make a few more magical runs,” Federer further mentioned. When asked about his favorite match against Nadal, Federer humorously replied that it was the 2008 Roland Garros final. It was the match that Nadal won with a dominating score of 6-1, 6-3, 6-0.

Also Read: Roger Federer mocks himself by picking the infamous Roland Garros 2008 Final against Rafael Nadal as his favorite ‘Fedal’ match

‘No longer a professional tennis player’ becomes Roger Federer’s profession

Roger Federer
Roger Federer (Credits: TennisWorld)

Roger Federer retired from playing professionally eight months ago. The 20-time Grand Slam champion recently took to Twitter to interact with the fans. He answered many questions from the fans and showed glimpses of his genius humor.

A fan asked, “Your bio says ‘Professional tennis player.’ So, does that mean you are not retired yet?”. Federer replied that he should change his bio and asked the fans for suggestions. Hilarious suggestions started flooding.

Roger Federer then updated his bio to ‘no longer a Professional tennis player’, which put his incredible wit on display but also made the fans upset. Now every time they will look at their favorite player’s bio, it will always remind them that he has retired. This quick joke from Federer has given the fans a bit of a reality check.

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