"After the 10th or 11th time, I already thought, "This can't be," he keeps raising the bar" - Roger Federer on Rafael Nadal winning 14 French Open titles
Roger Federer lavished praise on Rafael Nadal in light of his recent accomplishments at the 2022 French Open, where he won his 14th title by beating Casper Ruud in straight sets in the final.
The Swiss recalled how he thought Nadal had already done the impossible, back when he had amassed "only" 10 or 11 titles at the tournament a few years ago. Now that the Spaniard has somehow managed to add even more to that tally, the former World No. 1 was mighty impressed with how the Mallorcan continues to raise the bar.
He also spoke about Nadal’s victory: “I didn't watch the final, I watched the quarter-final (against Djokovic) a bit before I went to sleep. In general, it's just unbelievable what Rafa has achieved. The record of Pete Sampras, which I beat, was 14 Grand Slam titles.” (5/6)
Speaking in a recent interview with Swiss daily newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, the 20-time Grand Slam champion revealed that, although he couldn't watch the final, he stayed up to witness Nadal defeat Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals.
“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.” (6/6)
The 40-year-old tipped his hat off to the 22-time Grand Slam champion, adding that he was very happy for him on his "unbelievable" achievement.
“I didn't watch the final, I watched the quarter-final (against Djokovic) a bit before I went to sleep. 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 has won the French Open 14 times," Federer said. "That's unbelievable. I was happy for him that he did it again. Hats off to Rafa. After the 10th or 11th time, I already thought: This can't be. He keeps raising the bar. It's gigantic."
Remo Inderbitzin
Today, @rogerfederer opened one of 31 nature-oriented playgrounds in Switzerland that @rogerfedererfdn financed. 69 more will follow. I spoke to him about his comeback plans. He sounds optimstic: "I haven't planned more than the Laver Cup and Basel yet." (1/6) 📷Remo Inderbitzin https://t.co/SzHN8oK3AR
As the conversation turned to his own career, Federer declared that he has no plans at the moment to play in any of the tournaments besides the two he has already confirmed his participation in -- the Laver Cup and the Swiss Indoors.
“After Basel, the season is over anyway. It's important for me to get fit again so that I can train fully. Once I've done that, I can choose how many tournaments I play and where. The Laver Cup is a good start, I don't have to play five matches in six days.” (2/6)
Stating that making a full recovery was far more important to him than the number of tournaments he competed in, the Swiss was of the opinion that the light schedule of the Laver Cup was a good place to start at.
"I haven't planned more than the Laver Cup and Basel yet. After Basel, the season is over anyway. It's important for me to get fit again so that I can train fully," Federer said. "Once I've done that, I can choose how many tournaments I play and where. The Laver Cup is a good start, I don't have to play five matches in six days."
“I will have be able to do that in Basel. That's why I have to prepare for it in practice. I'm curious myself what's still to come. But I'm hopeful, I've come a long way. I'm not far away. The next three or four months will be extremely important.” (3/6)
After testing the waters at the Swiss Indoors soon after, the 20-time Grand Slam champion was quite confident that he has what it takes to return to action in earnest once again.
"I will have be able to do that in Basel. That's why I have to prepare for it in practice. I'm curious myself what's still to come. But I'm hopeful, I've come a long way. I'm not far away," he said. "The next three or four months will be extremely important."
"Yes, definitely, I want to return to the tour in 2023 if my knee plays along" - Roger Federer
Roger Federer also touched on his future in the sport during the interview, rubbishing all claims that this could be his final season on the ATP tour. The former World No. 1 declared that he aims to appear in more tournaments in 2023, provided his body cooperates.
Does he want to return to the tour in 2023, if his knee plays along? “Yes, definitely. How and where, I don't know yet. But that would be the idea. Definitely.” (4/6)
Although the 40-year-old did not know for certain the exact tournaments he intends to play, he announced to his fans that the underlying idea was to play as many events as were manageable.
"Yes, definitely, [I want to return to the tour in 2023 if my knee plays along]. How and where, I don't know yet. But that would be the idea. Definitely," Federer said.