Roger Federer: 'Rafael Nadal asked me how I was doing after the operation'

Roger Federer was the big absentee of the 2020 season, which saw the Basel legend only on the pitch at the Australian Open. After that, the 20-time Grand Slam champion underwent two operations on his right knee that led him to close a year deeply affected by the global pandemic well in advance. Thanks to the new ranking system introduced to cope with the consequences of COVID-19, the former world number 1 kept a place in the Top 5, even if his participation in the Australian Open 2021 is far from safe. This year Federer also had to cash in on his eternal rival Rafael Nadal at 20 Grand Slams, after the 34-year-old Spaniard conquered Roland Garros without losing a single set. In a long interview with Schweizer Illustrierte, the Swiss phenomenon revealed that he had talked a lot with Nadal during the lockdown period. The two symbols of the modern era are both part of the Players Council, which has played a vital role in recent months. Tennis has in fact prepared a series of remedies to allow second tier players to survive without the earnings associated with tournaments.

Federer on his relationship with Rafael Nadal

"I talked a lot with Rafael Nadal," Roger Federer said. "Because we are on the Players' Council, we had to keep talking to each other: What is best for the sport? How can we bring it forward? We also called during the tough lockdown in Spain. And he asked me how I was doing after the operation." Roger Federer also claimed that while he was happy to be at home during the first few months of the pandemic, the isolation made him realize that he missed being on the tour and regularly meeting his friends. "At first, I was happy to just stay longer in Switzerland, but at some point we realized that we were missing our friends, those from London, New York or Paris," Federer said. "Our life also takes place on tour, and we missed it." Roger Federer is very particular about what he wears. That is why his iconic ‘RF’ logo is very much loved all over the world. Federer recently got his logo back from Nike and thus relaunched a new product with his main sponsors, Uniqlo. The RF cap returns and this time it is available on the Uniqlo website in selected places. With the old logo, Federer also launched a new one as well. Moving towards a more simplistic design, the new logo features an ‘R’ with a period. It is unclear where the logo will be used. It is speculated that a new Roger Federer clothing line from Uniqlo could feature the new logo, whereas the old one would be used by Federer himself only.

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