WATCH: Roger Federer Gets Emotional After Receiving a Message From Diego Maradona

Published 11/21/2019, 7:16 AM EST

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Twenty-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer got emotional as he broke down into tears after receiving a heart-warming message from legendary footballer Diego Maradona during his exhibition match in Argentina.

Roger Federer is scheduled to play a series of exhibition matches against Alexander Zverev in Latin America. Following their match on Wednesday night, Diego Maradona paid a tribute to the Swiss legend in a video message, which was broadcasted on the big screen.

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“Hello, master, machine, like I call to you. You were, you are and will be the greatest. There’s no other like you. I want you to know that if you have any kind of trouble in my country, you can tell me and tell me what you need,” Maradona praised the Basel native in the clip.

Diego Maradona’s words left Roger Federer speechless as the 38-year-old was smiling with pride on the court after bursting into tears.

“A big kiss for your wife and you children. You are, like I like to say, a machine, the greatest of all time,” the 59-year-old told Federer.

Earlier, Alexander Zverev had expressed his wish ahead of Roger Federer to meet the great Diego Maradona and asked the World No.3 to invite him to the exhibition.

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“I want to meet him. There are many great Argentinean sportsmen. Lionel Messi, Maradona, Ginobili… There is always someone standing out. And it has to see with the passion that is lived in this country,” the German told Federer.

Apart from their matches in Argentina, the pair is also scheduled to play in Mexico, Colombia, and Ecuador as a part of the exhibition series.

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On Wednesday night, Alexander Zverev and Roger Federer managed to draw a huge crowd in Buenos Aires for the friendly match in which the German got better of Federer, defeating him in straight sets 7-6, 7-6.

 

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Written by:

Varun Khanna

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Starting off as a tennis author in 2018, Varun Khanna has gone on to contribute to EssentiallySports in various capacities. After setting up interviews with the likes of Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Alizé Cornet, and Noah Rubin, Varun is now part of all major ATP and WTA press conferences and has gone on to pen more than 1300 articles for EssentiallySports. He now heads the tennis and NBA division of the organization.
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