Federer and Nadal ‘could not stand one another’ as Swiss icon particulars relationship
Roger Federer has admitted that he and Rafa Nadal “couldn’t stand each other” earlier of their tennis careers because the retired Swiss star has mirrored on the pair’s relationship. With 42 Grand Slam singles titles between them, it was evident that there was quite a lot of mutual respect concerned in what has been one of many biggest rivalries in sport in latest historical past.
They confronted off 40 occasions with Nadal narrowly edging Federer because the Spaniard claimed 24 wins to the now-retired star’s 16, whereas their 2008 Wimbledon ultimate is extensively thought to be the best tennis match of all time. While the pair now get pleasure from a robust relationship, it was not at all times the identical as Federer relayed.
“We started respecting the rivalry,” Federer stated at a Big 3 occasion. “We almost miss it, playing each other every weekend. Back in the day we couldn’t stand each other probably for that. He’s a great man. I wish he can come back one more time but he has shown the tennis world and the fans how good he is.”
The 41-year-old defined additional how his bond with Nadal has grown stronger over time and adjusted as they moved into the twilight of their careers, as Federer retired final 12 months with Nadal by his aspect on the Laver Cup. “I’m five years older than Rafa, so when I came on tour I saw young, junior Rafa come through and he was extremely good, very young,” he added.
“He was incredibly respectful and also very shy, he had an unbelievable respect for me – not that he doesn’t have that now anymore, it’s just different because we’re friendly.
“He was very in awe of me and everything I wanted to do with the tour and my ideas, he was like: ‘You’re right’, then I saw Rafa grow into his personality, get more confident, he obviously had his own ideas and we started playing each other almost every other weekend.
“Obviously it was intense but always good and we always got along well, not just the two of us but also our teams, my parents and his parents, my coaches and his coaches, his sister and my sister – like the whole surroundings were very respectful and very good.
“Then as we got older and we knew maybe time was ticking and we’re about to not see each other so much – I had family, that changes someone anyway – we started to talk about all different things in life.
“More on injuries, more on kids as he is also a father now. The conversations change and in the process we also respect the rivalry that we used to have.”