Yesterday, Roger Federer, a member of the famed ‘Big Three’ in tennis, announced his retirement. The 20-time Grand Slam champion has decided to start the second phase of his life. The news didn’t just stun the tennis fraternity; it fell like a calamity on the entire sporting world.

From fans of different sports to legends of those sports, everyone paid their tribute to the legacy Federer will leave behind. Another athlete with a similar aura to the Swiss Maestro is Sachin Tendulkar.

Tendulkar pens an emotional message for Roger Federer

Tendulkar, the retired star batsman who has made six appearances in the World Cup and has over 34 thousand runs in international cricket, took to Twitter this Thursday to celebrate Federer’s career. He wrote, “What a career, Roger Federer. We fell in love with your brand of tennis.”

Thereafter, the former Indian captain added, “Slowly, your tennis became a habit. And habits never retire, they become a part of us. Thank you for all the wonderful memories.” Further, Tendulkar and Federer have always shared a bond regardless of their drastically different sports. 

Read more: Top 5 Unforgettable Moments From Roger Federer’s Career

Both have supported each other on major occasions. For example, the former World no.1 cheered for team India in its 2015 World Cup journey and Tendulkar has payed attendance to several Wimbledon matches of Federer. Now that the Swiss legend is saying goodbye to the hectic schedule of tennis, we hope to see more meet ups between two iconic sportsmen.

What’s ahead for Federer

The legendary Swiss, after suffering a quarterfinals defeat in last year’s Wimbledon, walked out of the circuit in the hopes of fixing his injured knee. He underwent two surgeries and took over a year to recover. Following that, keeping true to his fans’ expectations, he announced his comeback.

Federer enrolled for the Laver Cup and his home-based ATP 500 event, the Swiss Indoors Basel. However, according to his sudden retirement announcement, he will not play in Basel. The 41-year-old will grace the hard courts of London at the Laver Cup, which will be his last tournament.

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Federer would have played for his 11th title in this season’s tournament in Basel, which itself is making a comeback after being called off for two consecutive years due to the pandemic.