Tennis fans hold their breath, eagerly awaiting the documentary chronicling Roger Federer‘s farewell. This wasn’t your average athlete hanging up his racquet – it marked the twilight of an era. Whispers filled the stands: would this be the long-awaited peace offering between Federer and his fierce rival, Novak Djokovic? The 42-year-old maestro, known for defying expectations, had hinted at extending his reign. Yet, a subtle shift seemed to occur. Perhaps, with a heavy heart, Federer conceded the inevitable – bowing out before the final curtain fell for his contemporaries. After two years, the legend has some unsaid words!

Tennis legend Roger Federer sat down with Spanish newspaper ‘El País’ to discuss the upcoming premiere of his documentary, “Federer: Twelve Final Days,” which hits Amazon Prime Video on June 20th. While in the conversation, the Swiss tennis maestro shared his thoughts on retiring before his famous rivals and the three of the Big 4 Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. “I’m happy to have retired before Rafa, Nole and Andy,” Federer said in a recent interview, highlighting that it felt right to him because none of them were there when he started unleashing his dominance.

“I started my career without them, it seems right to me that I stopped first and it wasn’t a given,” Federer continued. He also shared his thoughts on the eventual retirement of his rivals, admitting that it won’t be easy to see them leave. “I believe that seeing him(Nadal) and Nole quit, after everything we’ve been through, will be tough.” Apart from this, Fed also mentioned how “Rafa especially made me worry, there was a period in which I feared that he would retire after winning the Australian Open in 2022.”

Federer announced his retirement in September 2022, just before the Laver Cup in London. Along with marking an end to his career, it was the same time when his on-court rivalry with Novak Djokovic came to an end. Although the Serb is registered to possess a lead in their head-to-head score (27-23), debates still continue to revolve around superiority. While fans can still smell fierceness every time he talks about his rival, this statement chilled out the heat for a while and introduced fans to a completely different side of his.

Djokovic, who is currently struggling because of an injury, is looking for an open end to get back soon enough. As Federer still has no regrets for signing out before them, it shows how the right decision-making helps in keeping the body and mind intact. However, despite expressing concerns about his ex-rival’s exit, the former pro picked Rafa’s side when it came to the retirement plans.

Roger Federer expresses his urge to see Rafael Nadal play for long

The whole tennis world is currently abuzz with Rafael Nadal’s presence on tour. Although it is clearly evident that he’s struggling to attain even half of the dominance that he once possessed, the Spaniard is giving no signs of ending his career without a massive run. While everyone has different thoughts on his exit, Roger Federer personally voted for him instead of Novak Djokovic, hoping that he would be there for a long while.

In a recent interview with Eurosport, the former pro was exposed to a question about his ex-rival’s retirement. Appreciating his stubborn nature that doesn’t let him give up just yet, the Swiss tennis maestro said, “What I see is someone who really tries to be on the court. If he says ‘ciao,’ it’s on the court and not from his couch. And I love that, because we can see that he is far from being 100%.”

Mentioning the fact that it is totally up to Rafa about when to call off, Federer added, “I think [choosing when to retire] is so personal. It’s up to him to decide how he wants to do it. I don’t have any information on that, and I hope that, in fact, he will play much longer than we think.”

Rafael Nadal is currently focused on his participation at the Paris Olympics. While Roger Federer has a keen eye on his performance, it still remains to be seen if he will be able to keep up with the expectations.