Roger Federer had partnered with his great rival and friend Rafael Nadal for his farewell match against the American duo of Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe on Friday in the recently concluded Laver Cup. After the last point was played, Federer got emotional and even Rafael Nadal was seen crying.
Both the legendary players were seen holding each other hands when singer Ellie Goulding was performing. That picture also went viral on social media and it was appreciated by many sports personalities.
Nadal revealed he hasn’t yet seen that photo as he is not a big fan of social media networks.
“Well, I haven’t seen the photo. I’m not a big fan of social networks, I’m sorry for that,” Rafael Nadal said while talking in the press conference. “I’m a sensitive person, and when you see someone you appreciate like that, it’s hard not to get emotional, although it got a little out of hand. When I got to my room, I got emotional again. But because of what was experienced that night, it was difficult not to get excited.
“I know that the moment of my retirement will come within ‘x’ or ‘x’ plus a little years, but with 36 years and a half, we are in the final stretch of my career. But now I neither consider it nor do I want to consider it. My emotion was not because of that, but because of the appreciation I feel towards Federer.”
Nadal revealed that he knew about Federer’s retirement as the Swiss Maestro had told him 10 days before making the public announcement on his social media accounts.
“He told me ten days before announcing it but I didn’t even know if he could play the doubles, because of the knee,” the Spaniard added. “We postponed the conversation a week later, and he also knew that, due to my situation, I cannot be away from home for a long time.”
“The only thing I could say to him is ‘confirm that you are going to play to manage it everything, and as little, as I can, I will be with you, whether you play or not,’” he added.
After playing with Federer, Nadal withdrew from Laver Cup and flew back to Mallorca due to personal reasons.
