'Roger Federer would never go off out loud in...', says ATP ace

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Nick Kyrgios paid tribute to Roger Federer as he feels there will never be another Federer. The 27-year-old Kyrgios has faced Federer seven times. Kyrgios only managed one victory over Federer, but they had several exciting fights in which the Australian narrowly missed out on beating the Swiss. On Thursday, Federer announced that he is retiring from tennis after the Laver Cup. Unfortunately, Kyrgios will miss the Laver Cup for the first time in his career. "No one will play the game like you. After losing in four sets to Novak Djokovic in this year's Wimbledon final, Kyrgios explained why he felt Federer was the most difficult to play. "I wouldn't say that. Like I said before, I had a chance to win the match. It doesn't make you feel as bad as Federer does sometimes," Kyrgios said. "I think Federer, out of the other three guys, can make you feel really bad, like he makes you want to get off the court. He can make things look very fast and the court very small." When Kyrgios and Federer met for the first time at the 2015 Madrid Masters, Kyrgios had a great victory. Federer won each of his subsequent meetings, but four of those six wins came in straight sets. "Nadal and Djokovic, they let you play a little bit from the baseline and if you're not playing well then you fight," Kyrgios said. "But Federer can take you off the court very quickly." Probably the most memorable match between Kyrgios and Federer came at the 2017 Miami Masters. In a match that lasted three hours and 11 minutes, Federer outplayed Kyrgios by 7-6 (9) 6-7 (9) 7-6 (5).

Evans pays tribute to Federer

Dan Evans heaped praise on Roger Federer and his personality, calling him a normal and down-to-earth person. "Yeah, him and his team are great to me. We practiced a bunch of times. Obviously I think two-and-a-half weeks once in Dubai every day. Yeah, it was great. Roger was cool," Evans said. The Brit hailed the 41-year-old's down-to-earth personality and said that he was a very good partner to practice with. "Yeah, I think the biggest compliment I can give him is he was very, very normal, down-to-earth person who was obviously good in king-like status in the sport. He treated me, and he treats everybody exactly like the normal bloke on the street to their mate. That was the biggest compliment I can give him. Obviously a very good practice partner to be able to practice with. Yeah, he was like his phone, would never go off out loud in a press conference," he said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/NinUbKQ

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