Berdych recalls Federer's reaction to his retirement from tennis

What's the story?

This year we saw the end of Tomas Berdych's tennis career after more than 15 years on the tour. Deservedly, the Czech was honoured with a ceremony at last month's ATP World Tour Finals to give him a proper send-off.

The Czech spoke fondly of the whole event and the response he received from the fans and other players. When discussing this matter, Berdych explained that Federer, in particular, gave him a very warm message.

In case you didn't know

Tomas Berdych is considered one of the greatest players to never win a Grand Slam. This is a title that many of his contemporaries share, however, and is a reflection of the dominance of the Big 3. Nevertheless, Berdych had a successful career consistently featuring in the top 10 and often as high as the top 4 as well.

The heart of the matter

Berdych, who received a special farewell ceremony in London, expressed his delight at the location of the event, "I really liked it, I played many matches in London. I had the time to remember some of my best experiences in career.

Berdych then discussed some of the messages he received from his fellow players, "After the farewell ceremony, Roger Federer came to me, he chatted with me and he congratulated me. That was probably the nicest moment."

Whilst messaging Federer specifically, Berdych admitted that he had received messages from a lot of people but not "managed to read all of them yet."

The Czech giant then went into some detail regarding his decision to retire by explaining "It has been on my mind for a while, and I was not fully healthy. I could not hit the ball at 100 per cent. One day I woke up and I felt empty, it seemed something had left me. I was starting to lack power."