Federer thanks Nadal for his farewell: ‘I will never forget’ | sport shoes
2 min readRoger Federer Officially left the tennis court as a Laver Cup professional in a side-by-side doubles match Rafael Nadal A little over a week ago. Still absorbing his new life, the Swiss made sure to praise his Spanish friend.
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Federer farewell has an amazing move and cries alongside Nadal
In an interview with The New York Times, Federer told how the conversation with Nadal to decide the farewell match was on a phone call after his US Open participation ended this season.
– I called Nadal after the US Open and waited for him to finish participating in the tournament to comment on my retirement. I wanted to talk before he started making plans without the Laver Cup. I said, “I’ll keep you posted and you’ll let me know how it goes.”
Federer added: “But he quickly explained to me on the phone: ‘I will do my best to be there with you. It was a great effort by Rafa and I will never forget what he did for me in London.”
Roger Federer also talked about the image among the tennis players that spread very quickly after the farewell, with both crying on the bench and Federer putting his hand on Nadal.
– It was a brief moment. I think in that moment, I was crying a lot and I don’t know, all that was going through my head was that I was so happy to live that moment with all of them. At this point, you almost forget that they are taking pictures. I think I touched Rafa, said Roger, and in a way, I thanked him in secret.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal – Photography: clone / Twitter
Regarding tennis’ remaining legacy, Federer emphasized that he hopes no one will try to be like him, invest in his own style and, in this way, make the sport bigger and bigger in the future.
Nobody needs to play like me at all. A lot of people thought I was going to play like Pete Sampras and I didn’t. I think everyone needs their own version and not imitation, even if it’s a big gesture of admiration – conclude.
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