‘Watching Rafa’s Emotions…’- Roger Federer Says It Felt Like Rafael Nadal Was Watching Real Madrid at the Bernabeu Stadium During His Farewell at the Laver Cup

Roger Federer is one of the greatest players of this generation. He, alongside Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, forms the big three of tennis. A few months ago, he took retirement from the sport, leaving his legacy behind. The 20 times Grand Slam champion decided to mark the end of his career by playing a match alongside the man against whom he earned and lost several trophies.

Federer chose Rafael Nadal to be his partner in his farewell match. They played under the banner of Team Europe at Laver’s cup. Here’s what Federer had to say about the collaboration.

Roger Federer about having Nadal as his partner

When asked what it feels like to have his biggest rival on his side and work as a team with him. Federer said, “working as a team with my closest rivals is absolutely exhilarating. Playing doubles with Rafa at the Laver Cup for the first time in Prague was super special.”

Thereafter, he added, “It is always a pleasure and honour to share the court with players like Rafa. The team dynamics combine the competitive intensity alongside a unique energy that allows us to visibly and vocally demonstrate our passion for the sport.”

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“Watching Rafa’s emotions on the Team Europe bench looks like he’s at the Bernabéu Stadium supporting Real Madrid and that will fire up anyone,” Federer expressed. He and the 22 times Grand Slam champion joined forces for the first time and played in 2017 in Prague.

Speaking of their latest as well as the last collaboration, they joined forces in order to secure a win against Team World. They locked horns with the American duo of Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe and secured the first set. However, in the rest two sets, their grip loosened, and they lost the match 6-4 6 (2)-7 9-11.

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Further, other than this, the 2022 Laver Cup will go down in the history as being the first and last time the big four played together. Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and the Swiss maestro represented Team Europe as a team. 

Federer and Nadal’s rivalry

The former World No 1s took ATP to another level with their rivalry. These two ruled the courts for decades and gave several nerve-wracking matches. They locked horns a total of 40 times. Out of that, the Spaniard has 24 marked under his name.

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They first clashed in the hard court of Miami in 2004 for a seat in the last 16. There Nadal established himself as Federer’s rival by taking a shocking straight-set win. Following that, a back and forth of lead took place and their meeting in the semis of 2019 Wimbledon became their final battle. Federer marked their last match under his name by winning the match 7-6 (3) 1-6 6-3 6-4.