New Delhi, July 6 Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer believes his former rival Rafael Nadal can "retire on his own terms", considering the injuries that have hindered the Spaniard from participating in consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.
Since sustaining a hip muscle injury during his second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in January, Nadal has been absent from competitive tennis.
The 36-year-old was unable to participate in the French Open, a tournament he has been a dominant force in for 18 years, for the first time since 2004. Additionally, he missed Wimbledon, a Grand Slam tournament he has triumphed in twice.
In the latter stages of his career, Federer also experienced a series of injuries that posed significant challenges.
Ultimately, Federer's physical condition allowed him to conclude his remarkable career by participating in doubles matches alongside Nadal at the Laver Cup in London last year.
"I mean, all of us: (Andy) Murray, (Novak) Djokovic, Nadal and me, I think the four of us when I retired were all sitting there crying about me retiring – or because of the music, who knows," Federer told CNN.
"Everybody had their own reasons why they were crying. I think you realise how fortunate we are to still be playing at this later stage of our careers because tennis players used to retire at 30.
“I mean, 26 for (Bjorn) Borg, 32 for (Pete) Sampras, 36 for (Andre) Agassi. This was like playing deep and now here we are all sitting there around 35-40. We all know how fortunate we are and so I think Rafa knew that, too. So seeing him going through this more difficult period now, obviously I’ve been there and I just hope that he can go out on his terms [and] he can still play a little bit," he said.
Federer also expressed his desire for Nadal to have a more competitive final year on the tennis circuit as the 22-time grand slam champion said in May that next season will be his last on the tour.
"I still hope we’ll see not just the doubles like I did, but more than that. I still believe that’s going to happen," said Federer.
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