‘He keeps raising the bar’ - Roger Federer praises Rafael Nadal, and still set on return to tennis
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Published 11/06/2022 at 21:45 GMT
The 36-year-old eliminated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the French Open to set-up a tie with German player Alexander Zverev - who retired in the second set - before facing, and beating Casper Ruud in the final at Roland-Garros. “He keeps raising the bar. It's gigantic,” Federer said.
'It's not about being the best, I like playing tennis' - Nadal reflects on French Open triumph
Roger Federer has praised Rafael Nadal for continuing to raise the bar after his record 14th French Open win.
Nadal convincingly beat Casper Ruud 6-3 6-3 6-0 in Sunday’s final to claim his latest Grand Slam on clay, and speaking to Simon Graf, Federer has expressed his happiness to see his rival make history.
“I didn't watch the final, I watched the quarter-final (against Djokovic) a bit before I went to sleep," Federer said. "In general, it's just unbelievable what Rafa has achieved.
“The record of Pete Sampras, which I beat, was 14 Grand Slam titles.
"Now Rafa won the French Open 14 times. That's unbelievable. I was happy for him that he did it again.
“Hats off to Rafa. After the 10th, 11th time, I already thought: 'This can't be.' He keeps raising the bar. It's gigantic.”
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'The legend continues to grow!' - Watch Nadal win 14th French Open title
The former world No. 1 - who was speaking in an interview after opening one of 31 nature-oriented playgrounds in Switzerland financed by the Roger Federer Foundation - also discussed his return to the court.
Despite sounding optimistic, the Swiss star did admit he has not "planned more than the Laver Cup and Basel yet."
“After Basel, the season is over anyway," the 40-year-old Federer said. "It's important for me to get fit again so that I can train fully. Once I've done that, I can choose how many tournaments I play and where.
“The Laver Cup is a good start, I don't have to play five matches in six days.
“I will have be able to do that in Basel. That's why I have to prepare for it in practice. I'm curious myself what's still to come.
“But I'm hopeful, I've come a long way. I'm not far away. The next three or four months will be extremely important."
Asked about whether he intended to make a return to top-flight tennis in 2023, Federer said: "Yes, definitely. How and where, I don't know yet. But that would be the idea. Definitely."
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