"I hope Rafael Nadal's body is okay" - Roger Federer's worry about the Spaniard's health during Bastad 2024 final comes to light

Roger Federer worrying about Rafael Nadal's health during the 2024 Nordea Open final recently came to light. Nadal had competed in the claycourt tournament in Bastad as part of his preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Nadal received a wildcard entry to the main draw of the ATP 250 clay-court event in Bastad, Sweden.

He managed to defeat the likes of Leo Borg, Cameron Norrie, Mariano Navone and Duje Ajdukovic to reach his first final of the season. However, he lost to seventh-seeded Nuno Borges in the championship match with a score of 6-3, 6-2.

Recently while speaking to Vogue, Roger Federer, who retired from professional tennis in September 2022, was asked if he still follows the sport regularly, and if he follows the career of his friend and his on-court rival, Rafael Nadal.

In response, the Swiss shared that he still closely follows the news of the tennis world and checks the scores and results almost daily. He specifically mentioned that watching the Nordea Open final where Nadal was competing had him concerned for the Spanird's well-being during the match.

"Three and two. Oh, God. Yeah, I saw he was down 1-0, love-40. That’s the last time I checked, a few hours ago, but when I saw the score, I was like, 'Oh, no.' I hope his body is okay. So, yeah, I do check in with the game almost daily to see scores and results," Federer said.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion also talked about his passion for sports in general and mentioned his love for watching football.

"Watching is a whole different thing, I love watching it when it’s on TV. We’ve been watching a ton of football as well, the Euros, and now the Olympics are coming up, so I’m going to watch all of that. I’m a big sports fan," he added

The former World No. 1 said that despite his busy schedule post-retirement, he makes time to watch match highlights and stay updated on scores.

"I’m always out and about and busy. But especially in the evening, when the day unwinds and I have time to sit back and maybe go on YouTube and watch some highlights, I tend to do that. I like to be up to speed on what’s going on, because the guys play nice, and I like to see what they’re doing," he said

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Roger Federer on his & Rafael Nadal's crying picture from Laver Cup 2022: "It reflects our camaraderie...,"

Last month, while speaking to EL PAÍS, Roger Federer, who retired after playing a doubles match with Rafael Nadal at the 2022 Laver Cup, stated that he has the photo of the two of them crying "framed" in his home.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at Laver Cup 2022 - Getty Images

The former World No. 1 explained that the picture reflects the "camaraderie, friendship and rivalry" he shared with the Spaniard. He said that it was a "great moment" where he had held Nadal's hand and showed his gratitude through that touch.

"I have it at home, framed, in a space where I have some images of my career; I don't want photos everywhere, so I have them in a specific area. And when I walk past it, it always catches my attention because it reflects our camaraderie, our friendship and also our rivalry, all in one image. It was a great moment, short; held his hand for a second and basically showed my gratitude through that touch," he said [translated from Spanish].

Roger Federer also shared that he had worked and trained over a year in order to be able to compete alongside Rafael Nadal at the 2022 Laver Cup at the O2 Arena in London.

"I worked for I don't know how long, a year or more, to be able to play that last doubles match [with Nadal]. It was crazy. So, when you take all this into account, the ending was beautiful and I enjoyed many moments," he added.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have faced each other 40 times on the ATP Tour with the Spaniard winning in 24 of those matchups.