Former World no.1 Roger Federer has showered praise on his good friend and also rival, Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard lifted his 14th Roland-Garros title after he defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final at Phillippe-Chartier in Paris last weekend.
There were doubts about whether Nadal will be able to go all the way in the French Open because of his foot injury trouble. However, the 36-year-old veteran once again showed why he is the King of Clay and proved his mettle.
This was Nadal’s 22nd Grand slam title and he is now two ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic’s tally of 20 majors. In fact, former legend Pete Sampras had won 14 Grand slam titles in his glorious career and now Nadal has 14 French Open titles itself.
“I didn’t watch the final, I watched the quarter-final (against Djokovic) a bit before I went to sleep,” Federer told tagesanzeiger.ch. “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 tenth, eleventh time, I already thought: This can’t be. He keeps raising the bar. It’s gigantic.”
On the other hand, Roger Federer has confirmed that he will play in Laver Cup and the Basel in 2022. The Swiss maestro will look to return to ATP Tour action in 2023.
Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal will look to continue his good form at the upcoming Wimbledon. Nadal recently received treatment on his foot in Barcelona and it remains to be see how he is responding to it.
“Rafa is following the process, and the recovery is good,” Nadal’s doctor Ruiz Cotorro told Spanish radio. “In two or three days we will look at the effects. In four days we will put him on the court and evaluate the way the treatment is evolving. “If there is any discomfort following treatment, we will have to look at whether he can play Wimbledon.”
Wimbledon 2022 will begin on June 27.
