"I told Rafael Nadal, 'Whatever you want me to do'" - Roger Federer revisits visiting Spaniard's tennis academy on opening day to lend his support

Roger Federer's upcoming documentary, Federer: Twelve Final Days, is set to release on June 20 on Amazon Prime Video. Ahead of the release, a clip of the documentary has been doing the rounds on social media, where the Swiss maestro revisited going to Rafael Nadal's tennis academy on its opening day.

The documentary chronicles the last few days before Federer's retirement. The Swiss retired after the 2022 Laver Cup, which was an extremely emotional affair.

In the clip, Federer talked about how he wanted to offer his support to Rafael Nadal for the opening of his tennis academy, Rafa Nadal Academy, which was opened in 2016. He said that he would be willing to help in any way possible, be it playing an exhibition match or being present for the opening ceremony.

"Honestly, it meant a lot to me, you know, because I had offered to Rafa to come. I told him, ‘I would come by anytime for an exhibition match, I would play with the junior, I would come for the opening, whatever you need me to do Rafa’. And he said that his favorite part would be I came to the opening," he said in the clip.

Federer also heaped praise on Nadal, calling him the greatest player ever, adding that he understood how difficult it was for the Spaniard to open his academy.

"And I think it went beyond our rivalry when he is not just an active tennis player, he is one of the world’s greatest if not the greatest ever so for him to do it during his career, I understood how difficult it is that why I wanted to lend my support," he said.

Watch the clip here:

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Roger Federer: "I watched a screening the other day, I cried like six times"

Roger Federer at the ATP Finals

Roger Federer recently gave an interview to GQ Sports and talked about his upcoming documentary. He said that it was a tearjerker, adding that he cried six times while watching the screening.

"I watched a screening the other day, it was hard-core. I cried like six times. I just think there’s so many moments where you feel that suffering I was talking about," he told GQ Sports.

Federer, the 20-time Grand Slam champion, added the documentary would be a beneficial one to watch for athletes all around the world.

"You see the end coming and there is this end point, but it’s beautiful. But I think it’s maybe very nice, and I think for a lot of athletes, maybe it’ll be good to see how I went out," he said.