"No champion has ever been beloved by his peers like Roger Federer" - Chris Evert lavishes praise on the Swiss legend
Roger Federer received a rousing farewell on Friday, which moved 18-time Grand Slam Chris Evert to claim that no champion has ever been beloved by his peers like him. The Swiss maestro's emotional retirement at the recently concluded Laver Cup left the entire tennis fraternity - as well as Team Europe - teary-eyed.
The likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Matteo Berrettini, Andy Murray, Casper Ruud, Cameron Norrie and Stefanos Tsitsipas were beside Federer in his swansong. The 41-year-old could not hold back his tears during the presentation ceremony, and his peers couldn't either.
The photo of Federer holding hands with Nadal went viral on social media, drawing a lot of positive reactions about their friendship. And one of the people who reacted was none other than Chris Evert.
"No champion has ever been beloved by his peers like @rogerfederer," Evert tweeted.
and never will again.
No champion has ever been beloved by his peers like @rogerfederer twitter.com/ellaling23/sta…
Roger Federer has had a glorious career, and he has written his name in the annals of the game. But none of that would have been possible had he not received the support of his loved ones - friends and family, especially his wife, Mirka.
While quoting former World No. 1 Kim Clijsters' tweet, which had an image of an emotional Roger Federer with his wife, Chris Evert said Mirka was "the ROCK" for the Swiss great.
The ROCK…. twitter.com/clijsterskim/s…
"An important part of my life is leaving too" - Rafael Nadal on Roger Federer's retirement
Roger Federer played some of the biggest and most important matches of his career against Rafael Nadal. The duo not only shared a great rivalry with each other but were also great friends off the court.
Nadal took part in the Laver Cup primarily to play a doubles match with Federer, the last of the latter's pro career. The Spaniard then flew back to Mallorca for personal reasons.
In a post-match sit-down interview alongside the Swiss, Nadal admitted that an important part of him was also leaving the tour with Federer's retirement.
"For me, 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," the Spaniard said of Federer.
"When Roger leaves the tour, yeah, an important part of my life is leaving too because all the moments he has been next or in front me in important moments of my life. So has been emotional (to) see the family, see all the people. Yeah, difficult to describe. But, yeah, amazing moment," he added.
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