Roger Federer sends retirement message to Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic

Roger Federer has expressed his wish that his former rivals Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic can “keep playing forever.”

The legendary Swiss described what Murray is doing after a serious hip injury as “inspirational”, while revealing he now feels “so distant” to his own playing days.

Federer brought down the curtain on his glittering 24-year career at the 2022 Laver Cup, with his biggest rivals Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray all in attendance as members of Team Europe.

The former world No 1 shared the court with Nadal for his final match as the pair joined forces to play doubles at the team event he founded, which was held in London that year.

The eight-time Wimbledon champion played the last match of his singles career at the All England Club, where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals in 2021.

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Federer underwent three surgeries on his right knee between 2020 and 2021, with the injury largely restricting him from competing after the 2020 Australian Open.

Murray and Nadal have both revealed that 2024 will likely be their last season, although neither has ruled out the possibility of continuing to play for longer. Djokovic , meanwhile, looks likely to outlast his Big Four rivals.

In an interview with BBC Sport , Federer explained why he does not have any advice to offer Murray on his own retirement as he admitted he already feels far away from his own career.

“I really don’t think there are any words of advice that I can give him,” said the 42-year-old.

“Retirement is so deeply personal. When you take that decision, everybody is in a completely different circumstance.

“We’ve gone through similar things but I’m too far away to give advice. If he called me up, I’d be happy to answer some questions.

“He’s had this massive hip issue and what he is doing is inspirational. I hope Andy, like Rafa and Novak, can keep playing forever, like a fan. The tour is better with them.

“I was watching Roland Garros last week and I was like: ‘Wow, they’re so good – I used to do that too!’ I feel so distant to my career. I start to forget the things I’ve done, the records.

“It’s more of a beautiful past on the road. It’s been a great life and now having this distance is a great place to be in.”

The 20-time Grand Slam champion also spoke about how much he enjoyed travelling with his family on the tour.

“We created a home-away-from-home situation. I would come home from practice or a match and go and play Lego with the kids, read them a book or play hide and seek,” Federer continued.

“It was great. I would do it all over again, even with the sleepless nights and the tough logistics that came with it. We had a lot of help as well.

“The transition [to retirement] has been smooth. I think having been injured and then with the Covid pandemic, it allowed me to be home for more than three weeks at a time.

“I’m happy that I’ve stayed in shape, I go to the gym, I’m continuing with my rehab because I want my knee to get well.

“The boys are 10, the girls are 14, it’s a busy period. Things are changing really quickly now and they’re growing up fast.”

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