Roger Federer's emotional farewell message to Rafael Nadal draws reaction from $90 million-worth 5-time Grammy Award winner
Roger Federer's heartfelt farewell message to Rafael Nadal drew a reaction from the $90 million-worth and 5-time Grammy Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (per Celebrity Net Worth). The Spanish tennis legend's final tournament before bidding adieu to the sport will be representing Spain in the knockout stages of the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
Prior to Nadal beginning his campaign at the tournament, his longtime on-court rival and close friend Roger Federer took to social media to pen an emotional farewell message for him.
Federer expressed that the 22-time Grand Slam champion had pushed him in ways no one else could and had inspired him to "reimagine" his approach to the game.
"Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me—a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground. You made me reimagine my game—even going so far as to change the size of my racquet head, hoping for any edge," Federer wrote on Instagram.
The Swiss also reminisced about the various superstitions and habits that the Spaniard displayed on the court, noting that he liked all of them. He also credited the 38-year-old for making him love tennis even more.
"I’m not a very superstitious person, but you took it to the next level. Your whole process. All those rituals. Assembling your water bottles like toy soldiers in formation, fixing your hair, all of it with the highest intensity. Secretly, I kind of loved the whole thing. Because it was so unique—it was so you. And you know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more," he continued.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion then went on to praise Nadal for his career as a player and acknowledged that he had made Spain and the tennis world "proud."
"We were both at the start of our journey and it’s one we ended up taking together. Twenty years later, Rafa, I have to say: What an incredible run you’ve had. Including 14 French Opens—historic! You made Spain proud... you made the whole tennis world proud," he added.
Read Roger Federer's full emotional farewell message below:
Roger Federer's touching farewell message for Rafael Nadal quickly went viral on social media with numerous tennis players and fans reacting to it. Among them was the American actor, singer, and 5-time Grammy Award winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, who reacted to the message with three crying emojis.
“😭 😭 😭 ," Miranda commented.
Nadal, alongside Carlos Alcaraz, Roberto Bautista Agut, Marcel Granollers, and Pablo Carreno Busta will be representing Spain in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga under the leadership of David Ferrer as captain.
Lin-Manuel Miranda once credited Rafael Nadal for helping him write tunes instead of focusing on winning awards
![Rafael Nadal pictured at an event [Source: Getty]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/b7d8a-17320341312690-1920.jpg)
In 2022, Lin-Manuel Miranda shared with American television host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel that Rafael Nadal's career had an impact on his creative process. Miranda said that watching the Spaniard's focused approach to tennis inspired him to channel that same dedication into his songwriting.
Miranda expressed that the former World No.1's mindset of playing each match to win, rather than focusing on awards or records, has been a guiding principle for him in his career.
“It’s like stats. When Rafa Nadal broke the record for most Opens, he wasn’t thinking about breaking the record. He was just thinking about, ‘there’s a ball coming at me very fast. And I have to hit the ball back.’ And that’s how I feel when I’m writing the tune. It’s like somebody throwing a ball at me,” Lin-Manuel Miranda said (via Billboard).
Looking ahead to the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, Spain will take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. The winner of this match will move on to face either Germany or Canada in the semifinals. Rafael Nadal is slated to compete in a singles match during the quarterfinals where he will go head-to-head with Dutch player Botic van de Zandschulp.