Swiss tennis great Roger Federer has written an emotional letter regarding the retirement of his close friend Rafael Nadal. Spain’s great player Rafael is preparing to bid farewell to tennis through the Davis Cup finals to be held in front of the home crowd on Tuesday. Nadal, who is known for his dominance on the clay courts of Roland Garros, will retire after the Davis Cup. This legendary player has 22 Grand Slam titles in his name.
The Spaniard will be the second of the ‘Big Three’ of tennis to retire after his fellow legend Federer. It is noteworthy that Big Three is a common tennis term which is used for Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Federer and Nadal are each other’s strongest and most famous rivals in sports history, with 42 Grand Slam titles between them. Whereas Federer has a record eight Wimbledon titles on grass. Nadal, meanwhile, has an incredible 14 French Open titles on clay, earning him the nickname ‘King of Clay’, a record that may never be broken.
Federer wrote in a letter, “As you prepare to retire from tennis, before I get emotional, I have a few things to share. You have beaten me many times and I have had very little success against you. Mili. I have rarely experienced challenges the way you have in a competition against anyone else.
Come on, @RafaelNadal!
As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I’ve got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional.
Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me—a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I…
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) November 19, 2024
“I don’t believe in superstition but you took it to the next level. Your whole process. All those rituals. Collecting your water bottles, getting your hair done… it was different together. I loved all that stuff. “I liked it a lot because it was so unique – it was you.”
Despite the rivalry on the court, both are very good friends off the court. Two years ago, during the Laver Cup in London, Nadal was sitting right next to Federer while saying goodbye to professional tennis, both of them looked very emotional at that time.
Also read: Women’s Asian Champions Trophy: India defeated Japan 2-0 in a thrilling semi-final, made it to the final.
