Roger Federer Reflects on Rafael Nadal’s Final Season on the Circuit

Retirement seems to fit him like a glove. If Roger Federer’s schedule remains particularly busy, his public appearances are rare enough to be noted. On Wednesday, the former Swiss champion was in La Courneuve where, as ambassador for his equipment manufacturer, he participated in the inauguration of a tennis court with the “Fête le Mur” association. After participating in exercises and games with the children gathered for the occasion, he gave an interview to our colleagues from France Télévisions in the program “Télématin” broadcast this Thursday and took the opportunity to speak about the case Rafael Nadal.

The Spaniard, whom he considers the greatest rival of his career, is probably playing his last Roland-Garros (May 26 – June 9) and his final season on the circuit. And Federer is obviously not indifferent to it. “It’s very interesting to follow it from afar for me. I know how I experienced the end. It was perhaps a little different because I didn’t play at all until the last double with him in the Laver Cup,” he explained.

If he says ‘ciao’, it will be on the pitch and I love that because we see that he is not 100%

From his last official singles match in the quarter-final of Wimbledon in July 2021 to his farewell in the fall of 2022, a year had passed. Roger Federer was not able to bow out as he would probably have liked, as a competitor on the court at the end of a fierce fight, even if this Laver Cup 2022 at the O2 Arena in London was full of emotions , in the presence of his three great rivals Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

But for Nadal, the Basel native hopes for a different outcome. “We saw each other for a photoshoot (for a French luxury brand, editor’s note) and recently too. What I see is someone who is really trying to be on the ground. If he says ‘ciao ‘, it will be on the pitch and not on the sofa and I love that, because we see that it is far from 100%. I think it’s so personal that it has to be. he chooses how he wants to say goodbye. I have no information and I hope he can play much longer than we think. The question is his body, like him. – even says it very honestly,” he said.

What if Nadal finally prolonged the pleasure? Federer would not be against it in any case. Whatever happens, the Swiss will remain attentive to the exit of the “Bull of Manacor”.

2024-05-23 12:00:00
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