‘Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more’

Roger Federer

Roger Federer says Rafael Nadal made him enjoy tennis "even more" during a rivalry that spanned 40 matches over 15 years.

Writing on social media on Tuesday, hours before the start of the Davis Cup Final 8, Nadal's last event before heading into retirement, Federer began his message with the word "Vamos" and said: "As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I've got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional."

Also Read: 'Showing off those biceps..': Federer revisits his first glimpse of young Nadal

"Let's start with the obvious: you beat me - a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could," Federer said.

"On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground. You made me reimagine my game - even going so far as to change the size of my racquet head, hoping for any edge," he added.

Still, Federer told Nadal in his post, referring to him by the nickname Rafa: "You made me enjoy the game even more."

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever