Swiss great vows fans have not seen the last of him after bringing curtain down on his glittering career
\nLONDON
\nRoger Federer promised his fans they had not seen the last of him after bringing the curtain down on his glittering career, saying he would see them on a \u201cdifferent type of tennis court\u201d in future.
\nThe Swiss 20-time Grand Slam champion and Rafael Nadal lost their Laver Cup doubles match 4-6, 7-6 (7\/2), 11-9 to Team World\u2019s Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock.
\nThe defeat for Europe left the two teams locked at two points apiece after the first day of the Ryder Cup-style event at London\u2019s O2 arena.
\nBut the match itself was ultimately a sideshow on an emotional occasion for the 41-year-old, who made a lengthy and tearful address to the crowd, his rivals and family afterwards.
\n\u201cThis is not the end-end, you know, life goes on,\u201d he told a post-match press conference in the early hours of Saturday, having recovered the poise that was the hallmark of his career.
\n\u201cI\u2019m healthy, I\u2019m happy, everything\u2019s great.
\n\u201cThe message from me was just making sure I relay my passion for the sport to the fans, and I let them know that hopefully we\u2019ll see each other again on a different type of tennis court somewhere around the world,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cI have no plans whatsoever, where, how, when. All I know, I would love to go and play places I have never played before or go say thank yous for years to come to all the people that have been so supportive of me.\u201d
\nFederer, who had not played tennis competitively since Wimbledon in 2021 due to a knee injury, said at times during the build-up to the match, which started late on Friday, he had been \u201chorribly nervous\u201d.
\n\u201cThe last two days have been tough, you know, to say the least,\u201d he said. \u201cThankfully in moments I totally forgot about it, slept great, everything was wonderful, I could enjoy it, I feel.
\n\u201cAnd because of that I think I will be able to have a better recollection of how it went, because if it\u2019s all just stress throughout and I want it to be only perfect, I know I will remember half of it.\u201d
\nNadal also admitted it had been a tough day, with a \u201csuper-emotional\u201d ending.
\n\u201cFor me it has been a huge honour to be a part of this amazing moment of the history of our sport, and at the same time a lot of years sharing a lot of things together,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cWhen Roger leaves the tour, an important part of my life is leaving too.\u201d
\nFederer and Nadal, who have won 42 Grand Slam singles titles between them, spoke warmly of their friendship even though they have been fierce rivals for nearly two decades.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s been great,\u201d said the Swiss. \u201cI think we enjoy each other\u2019s company, and we have so much to look back on, but also just enjoy spending time together.
\n\u201cWe have a million topics to cover. I always feel like any evening we ever spend together we never have enough time.\u201d
\nNadal, 36, said his relationship with Federer had been a \u201csuper-long and positive journey\u201d.
\n\u201cFor me was always the guy to beat,\u201d said the Spaniard. \u201cSo at some point we were probably the biggest rivals \u2013 I think always in a very good way.
\n\u201cWe respect a lot each other, families, teams. I mean, we never had big issues… I mean, when we were getting older, I think every year the personal relationship gets better and better.\u201d
\n\u201cVery proud to be part of his career in some way,\u201d he added. \u201cBut even for me happier to finish our career like friends after everything we shared on court like rivals.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Swiss great vows fans have not seen the last of him after bringing curtain down on his glittering career LONDON Roger Federer promised his fans they had not seen the last of him after bringing the curtain down on his glittering career, saying he would see them on a \u201cdifferent type of tennis court\u201d in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-285398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n