“Well, let’s stop crying. Let’s stop this shit”. On September 23, 2022, Rafael Nadal tries to stop crying in the changing rooms of the O2 Arena. “Imagine if we win,” replies Roger Federer with eyes still bathed in tears.
A few minutes have passed since the tribute to Federer on the Laver Cup court ended and The image of the two rivals holding hands and crying without consolation is going around the world. While that moment goes viral, the Spaniard and the Swiss are in the catacombs of the O2 Arena in London and the emotion continues to absorb them. Federer thanks Nadal and the rest -Djokovic, Murray, Tsitsipas…- for accompanying him in his last match as a professional tennis player. And Nadal, with his torso bare, continues to not fully understand that his great rival will no longer play again.
These images make up one of the last sequences of Federer: the last twelve daysan Amazon Prime documentary that premieres this Thursday and that returns to the 2022 Laver Cup with unpublished scenes. Nadal does not appear until minute 45, but from then on he plays a fundamental role in the development of the film.
“I remember that Rafa was very shy as a child. It was difficult for him to look you in the eyes. And he always said ‘Whatever Roger wants, I’m happy with what he wants'”
Roger Federer
“I told Rafa that I was retiring ten days before the announcement. He was going through difficult times – his wife, Xisca, had problems with the pregnancy – he was going to be a father for the first time. But I wanted to tell him that I would love to play one last doubles with him and that I was leaving. At that moment he told me: ‘I will be there, 100%.‘”, says the 20-time Grand Slam champion at one point in the documentary.
The telephone conversation between Federer and Nadal that September lasted about a quarter of an hour. “I held it in during the call, but then my eyes filled with tears, honestly.“says Nadal.”When you see someone who has been a very important part of your life decide to leave, you know it’s a difficult time. “When I finished the call, some memories came back to me and I found it hard to hold back the tears.”
Federer’s reaction to Nadal’s arrival
Until Djokovic appeared on the circuit, Federer and Nadal were the great protagonists of tennis. Between the two of them, they won 23 of the 25 Grand Slams that were played between 2005 and 2010 and forged a duopoly that crossed the borders of sport. The respect they had for each other, that 2008 Wimbledon final and that brutal clash of styles meant that a Federer-Nadal (in total they played 40 matches) has remained in the collective imagination as the great rivalry in the history of tennis.. No matter how much later Djokovic arrived and Nadal was measured 59 times and Federer 50 times.
“The world sometimes wonders how we can be good friends. I think it is possible to play hard and at the same time have a kind relationship,” comments Federer in a section of the documentary in which He makes a great reflection on what Nadal’s emergence meant to him. About how he had to deal internally to confront a player who tormented him many times on the court, but later he was one of his great friends in the locker room.
“I had to find a way to dig deeper and look inside myself. ‘How am I going to deal with Rafa?’ “It was a little mind-blowing. I wasn’t able to understand it and unlock it.”
Roger Federer
“When Rafa arrived at the circuit you could feel that he had something really speciall. We knew he was going to win Grand Slams, we knew it. I was at the top at that time, so respecting me was something very natural and normal for him. And for me… I always thought that it is very nice to support the young people who are arriving. So I think the relationship started in a very friendly way,” recalls the Swiss.
“And then, obviously, there comes the moment when the rivalry begins. I lost my first match against him and at first I thought ‘I don’t want to have this guy here. I like to be alone at the top.’ So I had to find a way to dig deeper and look inside myself. ‘Well, how am I going to deal with this now?’ Because it was a little mind-blowing. I simply wasn’t able to understand it and unlock it,” adds the champion of 20 Grand Slam titles.
🇨🇭 Roger Federer 😢 Rafael Nadal 🇪🇸
👀 Last year, there were historical moments in the Laver Cup! #LaverCup
🌟 2023 Laver Cup with its excitement, unique moments and star rackets as of 23.00 tonight #beINSPORTS It starts on your screens!pic.twitter.com/xCw5eynXtJ
— beIN SPORTS Türkiye (@beINSPORTS_TR) September 22, 2023
Nadal’s shyness
Federer and Nadal met for the first time in March 2004. The Swiss was already number one in the ranking, while the Spaniard was just 17 years old and was number 34 on the ATP list. CoWith the courage and self-confidence that has always characterized him, Nadal won that duel in Miami 6-3, 6-3. On the court, the Spaniard was a hurricane against Federer. But outside, everything was different.
“I remember that as a child I was very shy. He had a hard time looking you in the eyes and all that. And he always said ‘Whatever Roger wants, I’m happy with whatever he wants.’‘. But then, over time, he built up a very strong personality, he was more self-confident and wanted to do things his way. I was very happy to see that,” Federer recalls in the documentary.
What Nadal says about Federer in the documentary
And what does Nadal say about Federer in the documentary? The film does not have exclusive interviews with the Swiss’s great rivals. There are no shots in which Nadal and Djokovic are seen sitting in front of the camera analyzing their rivalry. However, during the hour and a half that it lasts there are words from Nadal in voiceover about the Swiss.
“In this world it is easier to improve when you have positive examples in front of you. I had that with Roger,” says the Spaniard. “Roger brings back a lot of emotions and a lot of memories for me. The feeling before a Grand Slam final against Roger is different. A different environment, a different kind of pressure. “Knowing that I will never have this feeling again for the rest of my life is something that hurts.”.
“Although we have a great rivalry on the field, We were able to have a very good friendship outside of it. And that is something very difficult to find in this very competitive world.“Adds Nadal just before one of the most emotional moments.
Runny and with a trembling voice, Federer responds to those words from Nadal: “I can feel that too. Getting along so well and having mutual respect is something very special. I guess we’ve both been through a lot and been hurt a lot, so obviously we can both relate. “I’m happy we made it to the end.”
2024-06-20 04:59:00
#dont #guy #top #Relief
