FILE – Alexandra Eala of the Philippines celebrates after defeating Lucie Havlickova of Czech Republic during their Junior Girl’s Singles Final match on Day Thirteen of the 2022 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 10, 2022 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Sarah Stier/Getty Images/AFP
MANILA, Philippines—Alex Eala was among the many who felt sad over Roger Federer’s retirement.
The 41-year-old Federer, who won 20 Grand Slam singles titles, announced Thursday evening (Manila time) that he will retire after next week’s Laver Cup in London.
“I was super sad to wake up to this news. As we all know, he’s such an icon in this sport,” said the newly-crowned US Open girls’ singles champion in a virtual press conference on Friday.
The 17-year-old Filipino, a scholar at Rafael Nadal Academy who is still scratching the surface of her potential, also looks up to Federer in many ways.
“The thing I most admire about Roger is his grace on the court and off the court as well. His composure and just how he carries himself and the image he’s built up over the years,” Eala said.
Like the Swiss tennis icon, Eala is working on her mental strength as she continues to strive harder to reach greater heights.
Federer faced Nadal 14 times on the Grand Slam stage with the Spanish superstar winning 10 in their head-to-head.
The former World No. 1 bared his knee injury made him decide to call it quits after playing for more than two decades.