Nadal on Federer’s retirement: “A part of my life left with him”

Rafael Nadal has described the effect Roger Federer retiring has had on him more specifically than ever, saying that “part of my life left with him”.

The Spaniard, speaking during his tour of Latin America with Casper Ruud, said the Swiss’s departure has had a profound effect on him, in much the same way that John McEnroe was left feeling bereft when Bjorn Borg retired.

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“Someone I have admired, who I have rivalled and also I have shared many beautiful things on and off the court was leaving,” Nadal told reporters, when asked to sum up the effect Federer had on him.

“In that sense, all those moments, those feelings you have before playing a final of a Grand Slam, of an important tournament, everything that was in the air before those matches. It was different from other matches.

“You know you’re not going to live that again and a part of my life left with him (when he retired). It was also the emotion of saying goodbye to someone who has been so important to our sport.”

Nadal and Federer played 40 times, 14 times in slams, including several iconic battles.

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