'The way Roger Federer and Nadal talk about each other...', says WTA legend

We are almost at the end of this weird tennis season and news is already arriving on the next one. In particular, among fans, there is growing expectation for Roger Federer's return to the field after the double knee operation. In this sense, positive updates arrive from the Swiss champion, whose condition continues to improve. Federer, in a recent interview, said: “In this long rehabilitation process I feel that I am starting to improve. I don't see improvement day after day, but week after week yes. I returned to the pitch two weeks ago and I enjoyed it, this hadn't happened for a while, I'm happy. I am training to return as soon as possible, I hope to be ready for the month of January. Retirement? I want to reassure everyone and say that I have no intention of retiring now”. Federer's goal therefore seems undoubtedly the Australian Open 2021, it remains to be seen whether the Swiss will be able to meet the schedule and be on the pitch in Australia. To comment on Federer's words was his long-time rival, Rafael Nadal, who is on the pitch this week in the Paris Bercy Master 1000. It is no mystery that the two have for years built a good relationship and, as a testimony to this, come the words of the Spaniard on Federer's progress: “I think Roger will be back in shape. I saw that he is training and I am happy with that. What can it do in 2021? I can't know, I don't know how I will play nor Roger”. The two, as admitted by the Spaniard, kept in touch during the stop period: "Lately I must admit that we have spoken often, we talked a lot and we regularly discussed, obviously, also on matters relating to the board of players and the problems that everyone has to face”. The 6-time doubles champion Sania Mirza has shared the court with Roger Federer for the Indian Aces at the IPTL in 2014, while she played with Rafael Nadal the following year.

Mirza on Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Sania Mirza said: "The way they talk about each other on and off the camera is pretty incredible, and I’ve seen that being a part of IPTL where I was on Rafael Nadal’s team and I was on the same team as Roger Federer in the following or the year before that. They speak so highly of each other." Sania Mirza pointed out how both Federer and Nadal have mutual understanding on and off the court following the incredible matches they have had over the years. "On the courts, of course, everybody knows that they’ve had some incredible matches and have some incredible history, but I think off the court are the moments that make them very special. The respect they have for each other and when they play, you can see that there is so much respect and mutual admiration for each other as well. They bring so much to the game and such different things that our sport really needs both of them," Sania Mirza said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3laoi93