Roger Federer hopes Rafael Nadal plays 'much longer' with retirement looming ahead of French Open and Olympic Games
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Published 23/05/2024 at 19:24 GMT
Rafael Nadal has strongly suggested that he will retire at the end of the season, but the Spaniard has given no definite date for him to walk away from the sport. The 22-time Grand Slam champion will play at the French Open, where he will take on Alexander Zverev in an intriguing first-round tie at Roland-Garros. Roger Federer hopes Nadal plays for "longer" than is expected.
Nadal trains with Wawrinka as French Open edges closer
Tennis great Roger Federer hopes Rafael Nadal has a surprise in store and will keep playing beyond his expected retirement date.
Although the Spaniard is yet to confirm exactly when he will hang up his racquet, he has strongly hinted that this will be his final season on Tour.
With 22 Grand Slam titles to his name, Nadal is second in the all-time list for the men’s game behind current world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Fourteen of those have come at Roland-Garros, where Nadal has been given a difficult draw to face Alexander Zverev in the first round of this year’s French Open.
Federer - who ended his career with 20 major titles - played his final match alongside Nadal in a doubles match at the Laver Cup.
Speaking to French television programme Telematin, Federer says he’s watching the final knockings of Nadal’s time in the game as closely as anybody else.
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Roger Federer played doubles alongside Rafael Nadal in his final game before retiring at the Laver Cup in 2022
Image credit: Getty Images
"It’s very interesting to follow from afar.
"Because I know how I experienced the end of my career. Maybe it was a little different, since I didn’t play at all until the doubles."
"Because I know how I experienced the end of my career. Maybe it was a little different, since I didn’t play at all until the doubles."
Nadal’s injury struggles have restricted him in recent years, and he was out of action for three months at the start of 2024 with a muscular problem.
Federer knows it will be his former rival’s body that dictates when to call it a day, but he expects Nadal to be in total control of the decision and to walk away before it is too late for a well-deserved goodbye.
"What I see is someone who really tries to be on the court. If he says ‘ciao,’ it’s on the court and not from his couch. And I love that, because we can see that he is far from being 100%.
"I think [choosing when to retire] is so personal.
"It’s up to him to decide how he wants to do it. I don’t have any information on that, and I hope that, in fact, he will play much longer than we think. But the question is his body, as he says very honestly."
You can watch every day of the 2024 French Open live and on-demand on discovery+.
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