What Federer thought when he cried with Nadal

the swiss Roger Federerwho retired from tennis last week at the Laver Cup in London, underlined the deep mutual respect between him and the Spaniard Rafael Nadal and considered that their relationship is an example that goes “beyond” tennis, because it shows that it is possible to coexist in a “tough rivalry”.

He did so in an interview published by the New York Times in which he highlighted his gratitude to Nadal for participating last week in the laver cup of London in the doubles match that officially ended his legendary career.

“Rafa told me ‘I will do everything I can to be there with you’. And that was incredible for me, it showed once again what we represent for each other and the respect we have for each other. I thought it would be nice, a wonderful story for us, for the sport, for tennis and maybe even beyond,” he said.

“We were able to co-exist in a tough rivalry and come out of it and show once again that it’s just tennis. It’s tough, brutal at times, but there’s always respect. And you can come out of that and have this great friendship in the rivalry,” he added.

Federer stressed that his career ended “even better than I thought” and that he will “never” forget what Nadal did for him in London.

In his emotional farewell, he highlighted the moment in which he grabbed Nadal’s hand, both sitting on his bench crying.

“You almost forget that they are taking pictures of you. I think there was a moment when I couldn’t speak because there was music and I touched his hand, I think maybe it was a secret ‘thank you’,” Federer said.

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In the interview, the 41-year-old Swiss also acknowledged that before making the decision to retire he dreamed of being able to play tennis again, but his knee continued to give him problems.

“Over time I saw fewer and fewer options because my knee kept giving me problems. And at that moment I said, ‘OK, I accept it’. Because I felt that I had given everything, that I had nothing more to prove,” he said.