Roger Federer concluded a long career and retired at the age of 41 this week. In his last match Federer played next to his friend and legendary rival Rafael Nadal. The most decorated tennis player of all time spoke tonight (Monday) about Federer’s retirement match and the relationship between the two in detail in the Spanish “COPE”.
Nadal said: “I’m a sensitive person. When you see someone you appreciate break up, it’s hard not to get emotional, it got out of control. It was hard to hold back the tears after everything that happened that night. Federer turned tennis into such a beautiful sport, it’s hard to repeat that.”
“Me and Federer have been in contact trying to improve the players’ situation in the tour. We have had many hours together, we understand each other. Our rivalry developed as our friendship developed, we both grew old and went through a lot together. In the last 10-12 years we have reached a point where we appreciate every playing against each other.”
“The match in the Wimbledon final in 2008 was our most important match against each other, followed by the match at the Australian Championships in 2017. Our return to the Grand Slam final after all the injuries is not obvious,” continued Nadal.
“I don’t think we’ve ever argued on the court. The relationship between us has always been professional, off the court it’s different. I’ll miss him. In 2009, when I was knocked out of Roland Garros, I didn’t want Federer to win the final. I wanted to be the first in the world, when he won I cried because of the appreciation To Elio. It might have been bad for me as an athlete but I never stop appreciating him. Years before, when he stopped my winning streak on clay in 2007, I asked for his shirt from that match as a souvenir. It’s with me to this day.”
“I didn’t think about my retirement while playing. At 36 and a half years old, I know I’m at the end of my career, but I’m not thinking about the last match right now. I was only thinking about my appreciation for Federer,” said Nadal.
“An exhibition match against Federer at the Santiago Bernabéu? I haven’t heard about it, I don’t think Madrid wants the match that much. If an appeal comes I will consider it positively, but it also depends on Federer,” he added.
