Roger Federer pays tribute to Rafael Nadal ahead of the Spaniard’s retirement: ‘You beat me – a lot’

Follow live coverage of Rafael Nadal’s match against Botic Van De Zandschulp at the Davis Cup

Roger Federer says Rafael Nadal made him “enjoy the game even more” as the Spaniard retires from tennis at the Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain this week.

Federer, who retired alongside Nadal at the 2022 Laver Cup, opened a letter in tribute to his great rival with the salient fact of their rivalry: “You beat me – a lot. More than I managed to beat you.”

“You challenged me in ways no one else could,” Federer added. Nadal beat him in their first meeting in 2004 before arriving as a force in tennis by winning the French Open in 2005. Federer had by then won four Grand Slam titles; he would also win Wimbledon and the US Open in 2005, moving 6-1 ahead in a title count that would finish 22-20 in Nadal’s favour.

“I thought I was on top of the world, and I was, until two months later when you walked onto the court in Miami in your red sleeveless shirt, showing off those biceps, and you beat me convincingly,” Federer recalled from it. first meeting in Miami. They played each other 40 times and Nadal won 24-16, including the 2008 Wimbledon final that ended Federer’s five-title streak and fully signaled how the Spaniard could do damage to the Swiss.

“You made me reinvent my game,” Federer said. The now 43-year-old rebuilt his backhand to handle the high topspin forehands that Nadal would relentlessly kick into it and, as he noted in the letter, even changed his racket in pursuit of an edge. He added that playing Nadal on clay, especially at Roland Garros in Paris, where he won 14 French Open titles and has a match record of 112-4, was “stepping into your backyard.” Federer has said in the past that any quarrel he had with clay-court tennis was not the surface, but the fact that Nadal was on it.

How Rafael Nadal will leave tennis

Federer called his retirement with Nadal at the Laver Cup, where they played doubles together, “one of the most special moments of my career.”

He also credited Nadal’s idiosyncrasies, “gathering your water bottles like toy soldiers in formation” and the hair-straightening, ball-busting service routine that became so familiar to tennis fans around the world.

Nadal, 38, confirmed his retirement from tennis in October after two years in which a string of injuries hampered his ability to play the way he wanted. “I don’t have the chance to be competitive the way I like to be competitive. My body is not able to give me the opportunity,” he said at a press conference before his final bow.

Spain play the Netherlands today, Tuesday 19 November from 4pm GMT/11am ET.

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