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Federer surrenders to Nadal: “After the tenth Roland Garros I already thought: ‘This can’t be'”

the swiss Roger Federerformer number one in world tennis who has been inactive since July 2021, described “Incredible what Rafael Nadal has achieved”with whom he will team up at the Laver Cup in London, and announced his plans to return to the professional circuit in 2023.

Nadal obtained last Sunday his fourteenth Roland Garros trophy with a victory over the Norwegian Casper Ruud, who was a disciple of his academy, and Federer did not hesitate to praise his Spanish friend: “It’s incredible what Rafa has achieved. Pete Sampras’ record, which I broke, was 14 Grand Slam titles, and he already has 22“, he told the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger.

“Now Rafa has won Roland Garros 14 times. It’s unbelievable. I’m so glad you got it. I take my hat off. After the tenth, the eleventh… I already thought: ‘This can’t be’. But he keeps raising the bar. It’s gigantic.”

Federer formed a doubles pair with Rafa Nadalso far for the only time, in the inaugural edition of the Laver Cup in Prague 2017.

Federer’s comeback

the swiss plans return to competition next year, at the age of 41, although without a specific calendar other than his two firm commitments, the Laver Cup (again with Nadal) and the Basel tournament, which he organizes.

Winner of 20 Grand Slam tournamentsFederer has not played since he was eliminated in the quarterfinals of wimbledon 2021 by the Pole Hubert Hurkacz.

Speaking to the Swiss newspaper, Federer responded with a “definitely yes” when asked if he planned to return to the circuit tennis professional in 2023.

How and when, I don’t know yet, but that’s the idea,” added the tennis player from Basel, who at the beginning of the year it already confirmed its presence at the Laver Cup in Londonteaming up with Nadal, before participating in his own tournament.

“I still have no plans beyond the Laver Cup and Basel. For me it is important to get back in shape and train hard. Once I get that I will be able to choose how many tournaments I play and where,” he explained.

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