Nadal on Federer: "When he retired, it felt like a part of me was gone"
In comments relayed by the media outlet Sportskeeda, Rafael Nadal spoke about his great rival Roger Federer. In 2022, the Spaniard played doubles with the Swiss player for the final match of his career.
He reflected on his historic rivalry with him: "In a way, he played an important role in my life, because he was my main rival for a long time, at the start of my career.
And when he retired, it felt like a part of me was gone with him. So it was a very emotional moment. It was a great challenge, I think, for all of us to play against each other, a very, very big challenge.
When I started to become a better player, Roger was always there, ahead of me... For me, he was always the man to beat.
To have someone like Roger, whom I trust to talk about any personal thing, is something... it's very beautiful after all that we have shared and all the important things we fought for for so long."
