Roger Federer on Rafael Nadal's Victory
The Swiss Roger Federer described the game displayed by Spanish player Rafael Nadal at the French Open as "amazing", where he secured a historic tenth title on Sunday.
"He played marvelously. To achieve victory in that way is, of course, an enormous achievement," Federer said in the German city of Stuttgart, where he will return to the circuit this week after skipping the entire clay season.
"It's nice to see that such a great goal can be reached," he said about Nadal, the first male player in history to win the same Grand Slam ten times. "He has truly opened a path."
The Swiss player was not surprised by Nadal's victory at Roland Garros and considered that his milestone will serve as inspiration for the grass-court season, where he will attempt to win his eighth Wimbledon title.
"For me, the year starts now. I do not have any physical issues. I do not have to cancel any training. I am prepared," said the 35-year-old player, who won this season's Australian Open, defeating Nadal in the final, as well as the Indian Wells and Miami Masters 1000 tournaments.
Federer's debut in Stuttgart, an ATP 250 category tournament where he is the top seed, will be on Wednesday directly in the second round. His opponent will be determined by the winner between German Tommy Haas and French Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
The grass-court tournament in Germany marks Federer's return after more than two months of absence. His last match was on April 2nd in Miami, where he defeated Nadal in the final. Afterwards, he decided to skip the entire clay season.