{"id":51180,"date":"2025-05-26T02:37:31","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T02:37:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=51180"},"modified":"2025-05-26T02:37:31","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T02:37:31","slug":"roger-federers-tribute-to-rafael-nadals-farewell-ceremony-i-almost-cried","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=51180","title":{"rendered":"Roger Federer&#8217;s tribute to Rafael Nadal&#8217;s farewell ceremony: &#8216;I almost cried&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"web_share\">\n<div class=\"butt_container\">\n<div id=\"share_btn1_156018\" class=\"sharex\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"header_img\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/imgb\/162634\/roger-federer-s-tribute-to-rafael-nadal-s-farewell-ceremony-i-almost-cried-.webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/imgb\/162634\/roger-federer-s-tribute-to-rafael-nadal-s-farewell-ceremony-i-almost-cried-.webp\" alt=\"Roger Federer's tribute to Rafael Nadal's farewell ceremony: 'I almost cried'\" \/><figcaption><i class=\"photo-credit\">\u00a9 Stream screenshot<\/i><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div class=\"text_box\">\n<p>Roger Federer, one of Rafael Nadal&#8217;s greatest rivals and dearest friends, opened up about the Spaniard&#8217;s emotional farewell ceremony at Roland Garros, which\u00a0moved the\u00a0tennis world on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Alongside Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the Swiss returned to Court Philippe-Chatrier not as a competitor but to honor the man who defined the clay-court tennis!<\/p>\n<p>The Swiss maestro described the moment the trio walked toward Nadal as something timeless\u00a0in front of the packed stadium painted in orange watching with admiration.<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered\"><iframe id=\"twitter-widget-0\" class=\"\" title=\"X Post\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/embed\/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1926689326622019878&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tennisworldusa.org%2Ftennis%2Fnews%2FRafael_Nadal%2F156018%2Froger-federer-s-tribute-to-rafael-nadal-s-farewell-ceremony-i-almost-cried-%2F&amp;sessionId=bab6e93dddf2e9ff493e7df256f4ffaeddc22a1d&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" data-tweet-id=\"1926689326622019878\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>For Roger, that walk lasted forever before they reached and greeted the 14-time champion, who stood in tears, deeply touched by the tribute from the organizers and his legendary rivals who came to honor him.<\/p>\n<p>Federer admitted he was not surprised by the special part of the ceremony, having known the plaque presentation was around the corner. However, it still struck a chord.<\/p>\n<figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/small\/image162635.webp 400w, https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/big\/image162635.webp 848w, https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/mega\/image162635.webp 1920w\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"big\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/image162635.jpg\" alt=\"Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros ceremony 2025\" \/><\/picture><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros ceremony 2025<\/span><i class=\"photo-credit\">\u00a9 Stream screenshot<\/i><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Seeing how emotional Rafa was made it all real for Roger, who almost shed a tear himself during their embrace. The scene with the 69-time Major winners symbolized the closing of one of the sport&#8217;s greatest chapters.<\/p>\n<p>In a gesture of respect, love and legacy they built together, the four champions stood united\u00a0one final time on the clay battleground they once ruled or nearly conquered.<\/p>\n<figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/small\/image162636.webp 400w, https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/big\/image162636.webp 848w, https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/mega\/image162636.webp 1920w\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"big\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/image162636.jpg\" alt=\"Roger Federer, Roland Garros ceremony 2025\" \/><\/picture><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Roger Federer, Roland Garros ceremony 2025<\/span><i class=\"photo-credit\">\u00a9 Stream screenshot<\/i><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For Roger Federer, it was more than just a tribute &#8211; it was a walk toward tennis history.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The ceremony was perfect. Giving Rafa that plaque to keep forever was amazing. Unlike him, it did not surprise me because I knew it was coming. But I was happy for him, seeing how emotional he was.<\/p>\n<figure><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/small\/image162637.webp 400w, https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/big\/image162637.webp 848w, https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/mega\/image162637.webp 1920w\" type=\"image\/webp\" \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"big\" src=\"https:\/\/www.tennisworldusa.org\/world\/media\/image162637.jpg\" alt=\"Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros ceremony 2025\" \/><\/picture><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros ceremony 2025<\/span><i class=\"photo-credit\">\u00a9 Stream screenshot<\/i><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The most moving movement for me was when I walked toward him as we came onto the court. It felt like it lasted forever, with the whole stadium watching us. It was a powerful moment for Nole, Andy and me.<\/p>\n<p>Did I shed a tear? Almost! Especially when I greeted Rafa because I could feel how deeply touched he was by the ceremony,&#8221; Roger Federer said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a9 Stream screenshot Roger Federer, one of Rafael Nadal&#8217;s greatest rivals and dearest friends, opened up about the Spaniard&#8217;s emotional farewell ceremony at Roland Garros, which\u00a0moved the\u00a0tennis&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":51181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Roger Federer&#039;s tribute to Rafael Nadal&#039;s farewell ceremony: &#039;I almost cried&#039; - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=51180\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Roger Federer&#039;s tribute to Rafael Nadal&#039;s farewell ceremony: &#039;I almost cried&#039; - 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