“I’m sure we’ll see each other down the road”: Roger Federer and his emotional message to Andy Murray

Roger Federer did not want to be left out of the tributes to Andy Murray and sent a heartfelt message to the Briton following his retirement. The Swiss Maestro was the first of the Big-4 to retire, back in 2022, playing his last tournament at the Laver Cup alongside his greatest rivals, including Murray.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion was one of Murray’s greatest rivals with 25 matches against him (Federer ended up leading 14-11) and was the Big-3 player who suffered the most losses to Murray. Murray has only faced Novak Djokovic more times (36 matches).

Murray’s retirement was one of the most significant news items from the Olympic Games and likely one of the most important of the year. After a 19-year career, the former world No. 1 and 3-time Grand Slam champion confirmed his retirement in Paris after falling in the doubles quarterfinals with his teammate Dan Evans.

The greetings and tributes from great tennis stars were not long in coming, but one of the most special was from Roger Federer. The Swiss spoke about the great inspiration Murray has been and the bittersweet rivalry they shared: “Hey, Andy. Many, many congratulations, my friend, on an incredible career,” Federer said in an ATP video.

“Wimbledon champion, US Open champion, Davis Cup champion, Olympic champion, and many more things you have achieved. So many Masters 1000s, world No 1 – and a Sir,” the former world No. 1 added. “So, Sir Andy Murray, incredible effort on the most wonderful of careers, [being a] great human being and doing it all with a massive family at the end – and a hip, and a body, that clearly wasn’t giving you what you wanted anymore at the end.

“But you’ve been a true inspiration to me and many of the players out there, and I’m so happy you could do it as long as you did,” Federer claimed. “Just from my side Andy, I have so much respect. I loved playing against you, even though I lost so many times against you – and it was brutal.”

“Congrats on everything you have achieved, and everything that’s to come. Only all the best, and I’m sure we’ll see each other down the road,” Federer concluded.