Finally putting down his Wilson Pro Staff RF97 Autograph, Roger Federer yesterday bid his final goodbye to the tennis world. Starting from 1998, the Swiss maestro rightly lived his king-sized journey with utmost grace. Even though the 20-time Grand Slam announced his retirement days earlier, his final on-court interview at the Laver Cup yesterday left the entire sports world in a place of emptiness.

Ever since then, numerous sporting icons have been coming forward to express their heartfelt feelings for arguably the greatest athlete not just in tennis but the entire sports fraternity. The latest addition to the long list of such icons is golfing legend, Jack Nicklaus. Arguably the greatest golfer of all time himself, the 18-time major champion recently shared a message, that clearly did justice to his emotions toward a retiring Federer.

Jack Nicklaus turns emotional while biding adieu to Roger Federer

Retiring from a sport that has given you everything doesn’t come that easy. A feeling that Jack Nicklaus went through when he announced his retirement from golf back in 2005. Re-visiting the memories 17 years later, Nicklaus started, “Hey Roger, Jack Nicklaus here. I remember when I retired from playing golf. You know, it was a sad day but a happy day.”

Over the past few years, one can recall Federer struggling with his knees. A condition, that had silently started preparing the tennis world of a retirement for the former World No. 1. However, despite prior promptness, the world clearly seemed unprepared for the day.

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Going ahead in the message, Nicklaus opened up the loss incurred by him with Federer’s retirement. “I’m going to lose watching my favorite player because it was really fun watching you. You’re sensational,” he said.

In his over two-decades-long career, Federer graced the sport with numerous records and accolades to his name. However, the biggest achievement for the Olympic medalist probably remained being one of the most loved players in the entire sports world. Similar to all RF fans, jack Nicklaus also had his reasons to love the 41-year-old. Going further, he said, “I love the way you handled yourself on the court. I love the way you handled yourself off the court.”

Roger Federer is a champion. Not just for the game and the fans, but also for his friends and family. A statement, which also received approval from the 73-time PGA tour title winner.

Heading towards the end, Nicklaus ended by saying, “You know, you’ve been a true, true champion for not only the game, but for your family and everybody that you know loves you.”

While words can express an individual’s feelings, they surely cannot express the loss to the sporting world. Apart from Nicklaus, numerous other sporting legends who expressed their feelings were NFL star, Tom Brady, Cricket legend, Sachin Tendulkar, Ski racer, Lindsay Vonn, and Soccer player, Toni Kroos, among others.

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