Rafael Nadal Receives Message From Afar as Retired Rival Roger Federer Manifests Brave Wish—”I Hope That…”

With 14 French Open titles in his bag, Rafael Nadal is making a comeback in 2024. And his longtime rival and friend Roger Federer has nothing but words of affirmation to share about him as Nadal tries to be at his competitive best on the court.

Many fans and insiders believe that this could turn out to be the last year Rafael Nadal plays before he retires from the court completely. This would mean that only Novak Djokovic would be the one out of the Big 3 to continue playing. Let’s see what Federer had to say about Nadal as he readies himself for a comeback.

Roger Federer is all praises for his longtime rival Rafael Nadal before his final comeback

In a recent interview, Roger Federer talked about the huge respect he has for both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. With sincere appreciation, he mentioned how he had been a part of a great many battles with the other two legends, grinding it out on the court as many as 50 times each with both Rafa and Novak. “I can only say the best things about them so it’s been great to share the court with them for so many years,” he added.

Talking about Nadal’s comeback, Federer sounded enthusiastic as he said, “I hope that Rafa can come back very strong next year.” He further mentioned that he would like to see both Djokovic and Nadal continue as long as they can, “because it’s just really good for the game to have these guys still in the game.”

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At one point during the interview, the artful Federer called both Nadal and Djokovic “titans” and “icons” of the tennis world. However, it seems that one of the Titans might retire at the end of the next year. Despite how much the fans want Nadal to play for much longer, he made it clear to them that this might probably be the last season for him.

Rafael Nadal clears the air about 2024 being his last season before retirement

In an interview, Nadal talked about how without any doubt this will be his last year. He even added that he may only play for half a year, and look for going a full year depending on how it goes. Further, Nadal also added that there are many possibilities that he may not be able to circle for a full year and it is too early to speculate.

Besides that, Rafael Nadal also shared that for now, all he wants is to enjoy all the tournaments he is going to play and he wants to compete as much as he can this year. That is the only reason for his comeback.

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