To see him struggle so much and go through so much pain, it's very sad and it hurts me
as his longtime friend, colleague, rival. You know, I've nurtured a very good relationship
with him on and off the court. I'm proud to have that kind of relationship that will go
on hopefully for many more years, regardless of whether we get to play against each other
or not, whether he continues playing, whatever happens...
Everybody can understand where he comes from. At some point when you feel like you're never
going to get back to 100 per cent, you've had the success that Andy has had, you can
only understand the decision. I was disappointed and sad, a little bit shocked, to know now
that we're going to lose him at some point. But we're going to lose everybody at some
point. It's just now that it's definite. Of course, I hope that he can play a good Australian
Open and he can keep playing beyond that, really finish the way he wants to at Wimbledon.
That's what I hope for him. It hits us top guys hard because we know Andy very well.
We like him. He doesn't have many enemies, to be quite honest. He's a good guy, a 'Hall
of Famer', legend. He won everything he wanted to win. Anybody would substitute their career
with his. He's a great guy. It's a tough one, but one down the road he can look back on
and be incredibly proud of everything he has achieved.