Roger Federer's continuing legacy in tennis: Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz, Boris Becker & others keep Swiss' aura alive | October 2024
Roger Federer retired from tennis in 2022, with that year's Laver Cup being his final tournament. Since then, the Swiss has still visited a lot of tournaments.
The 43-year-old had one of the most illustrious careers in the sport, winning 20 Grand Slams while being World No. 1 for a total of 310 weeks. He was at the top of the ATP rankings for 237 consecutive weeks, which remains a record to this day.
Federer may have retired from the sport but he is far from forgotten, as several personalities in the sport still talk about him and his rivalry with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
On that note, let us look at instances from last month, when the tennis world spoke fondly of him.
Rafael Nadal calls Roger Federer his biggest rival ahead of Novak Djokovic
Nadal spoke to Spanish publication AS not long back and was asked about his biggest rival. The 38-year-old said that Federer was his biggest rival despite playing more matches with Novak Djokovic.
"I’ve played Djokovic more than anyone else, but for me, my biggest rival was Federer. When I came onto the circuit, Federer was already there, and he was the first," Nadal said.
The Spaniard faced Federer 40 times, and triumphed on 24 occasions. They played out some enthralling matches, including some thrilling Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon 2007, Wimbledon 2008 and Australian Open 2009, to name a few.
The last encounter between the two came in the semifinals of Wimbledon 2019, with the Swiss winning in four sets. Nadal was also Federer's doubles partner in what was the latter's farewell match at the 2022 Laver Cup.
Read More: "Novak Djokovic is the player I have faced the most, but my biggest rival has been Roger Federer" - Rafael Nadal.
Carlos Alcaraz on practicing with Roger Federer in Shanghai
Carlos Alcaraz practiced with Roger Federer at the Shanghai Masters. The Swiss visited the Chinese city for an exhibition doubles match and practiced with the French Open and Wimbledon champion there.
Speaking during the Paris Masters, Carlos Alcaraz said that practicing with the 20-time Grand Slam champion was an "unbelievable experience" which he enjoyed a lot.
"It was an unbelievable experience for me. Having the chance to play with him, it was great. I just enjoyed so much, every shot, watching him playing the shots so easily. It was a dream. It was a great experience," the 21-year-old said.
Read More: Carlos Alcaraz makes his feelings clear about practicing with Roger Federer in Shanghai Masters: "It was unbelievable".
Casper Ruud hails the dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
Casper Ruud spoke to the Nothing Major podcast not long back and heaped praise on Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic for how they dominated for 17-18 years.
“I’ve understood how crazy it is from Rafa, Roger, and Novak, that they performed every single year for like 17, 18 years. They’ve been so good," Ruud said, as quoted by Tennis365.
The Norwegian also said that he couldn't understand how it was possible for the trio to dominate for as long as they did, stating:
“I just don’t understand how it’s possible. It’s one thing to do it three, four, or five years. But for them it’s been almost 20 years of pure domination.”
Read More: Casper Ruud in disbelief over Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic’s ‘20 years of domination’: "I just don’t understand how it’s possible”
Boris Becker responds to Casper Ruud's "disbelief" on Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic's dominance
Boris Becker responded to Casper Ruud's comments on being in awe of the Big Three's dominance in tennis by stating that they were the "three GOATs" of the sport.
"Casper, You're talking about the 3 Goats of tennis," the German said.
There was a time when Boris Becker was very close to the rivalry between Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, as he coached the Serb from 2013 to 2016. Under the German's tutelage, Djokovic won six Grand Slams, three of which came in 2015 alone.
Read More: Boris Becker issues stern reminder to Casper Ruud over his disbelief at Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic's 'domination' for nearly 20 years
Novak Djokovic speaks on the period where he could not win Grand Slams because of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
Djokovic recently spoke to La Nacion and spoke about being unable to beat Federer and Nadal earlier during his career, stating that he lacked the formula to beat them and that the duo was the reason behind him not winning a Grand Slam at a time when he was the World No. 2 and was playing at a high level.
"I was also number 2 in 2009 and I was playing at a very high level, but I couldn’t get to win Grand Slams because of them two. They dominated everything. I didn’t have the formula to beat them," the Serb said.
Djokovic has a positive head-to-head record against both his rivals, leading 27-23 against Federer while having a 31-29 lead against Nadal.
Read More: "I couldn’t win Slams because of Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal" - Novak Djokovic makes eye-opening remark on lacking 'the formula' to beat arch-rivals