Roger Federer's heart-melting wish for Rafael Nadal as Fedal's staggering Wimbledon record ends with Spaniard's absence

Wimbledon 2023 finally got underway on July 3, but for the first-time in the Grand Slam event's history, there was no Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal. Federer retired from professional tennis in September 2022 after the final years of his career were marred with injuries. He also overcame a knee surgery and returned to win three more Grand Slams, before calling time on his career. (Wimbledon Live Updates Day 4)

Meanwhile, Nadal hasn't played competitive tennis since a hip muscle injury during his second round Australian Open 2023 defeat in January. In May, the Spaniard announced that 2024 would be his last year in the ATP Tour.

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This year, it is the first time since 1999 that neither Federer nor Nadal participated at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. Federer made his Wimbledon debut in 1999 and Nadal did so in 2003.

Speaking to CNN Sports, Federer had a special message for his friend and long-time rival Nadal. "I mean, all of us: (Andy) Murray, (Novak) Djokovic, Nadal and me, I think the four of us when I retired were all sitting there crying about me retiring – or because of the music, who knows. Everybody had their own reasons why they were crying. I think you realize how fortunate we are to still be playing at this later stage of our careers because tennis players used to retire at 30. I mean, 26 for (Björn) Borg, 32 for (Pete) Sampras, 36 for (Andre) Agassi. This was like playing deep and now here we are all sitting there around 35-40," he said.

"We all know how fortunate we are and so I think Rafa knew that, too. So seeing him going through this more difficult period now, obviously I’ve been there and I just hope that he can go out on his terms (and) he can still play a little bit. I still hope we’ll see not just the doubles like I did, but more than that. I still believe that’s going to happen," he further added.

Nadal also missed this year's French Open, where Novak Djokovic overtook his tally of 22 Grand Slams to set a new men's singles record of 23 Grand Slams. The Spaniard's presence is being sorely missed in London, having won Wimbledon twice during his career.

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