“It’s easy not to say anything and you look like a gentleman” | Relief

Epic, tears, comebacks, hugs, laughter and some anger. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are the protagonists of a rivalry that goes beyond the racket. For everything they represented on and off the track. For their cordiality and almost friendship in a sport that had become accustomed to fierce rivalries in the 80s. For being so opposite. The king of grass and the king of the earth. The coldness and the nerve. Elegance and fierceness.

They have met 40 times since that first meeting in Miami 2004. The balance is 24-16 for the Spaniard, the great dominator of that rivalry baptized as “Fedal” and that will remain in the history books above, even – depending on who looks at it – the Nadal-Djokovic.

“Djokovic is the player I have faced the mostbut, for me, my biggest rival has been Federer. Because, when I arrived at the circuit, it was Federer who was there and he was the first,” Nadal recently pointed out in an interview with ‘As’. “In the years in which I was the best of my career in every sense, they were Roger and Novak. But In the first ones, which are the ones that mark you in a special way, Roger was always there“. Below, ten key moments in the rivalry, from that day Nadal spoke of teletext to the tears of the Laver Cup, also passing through that dark chapter that confronted them in the ATP Player Council.

It was the first time they saw each other face to face. Nadal was still unknown – he traveled to Miami without Uncle Toni – and Federer has just debuted his status as world number one. The Spaniard won in the third round 6-3, 6-3 and left a pearl in the subsequent press conference. They asked him if he thought his cell phone would be jammed with calls and his answer was the following: “I don’t think so, because it’s four in the morning in Spain. Tomorrow the newspapers won’t have the news, but maybe it will be on the internet and also on teletext… Then, I will start receiving calls“.

The following year they faced each other again on the same stage, but this time with the cup as a prize. Was the Swiss, then undisputed number one, who emerged victorious after coming back from two sets and winning 2-6, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 and 6-1. At that time, the Masters 1000 finals were still played in the best of five sets. It was the only time in their rivalry that there was a comeback of those characteristics.

It was an epic meeting in which Nadal saved two match points before winning 6-7 (0-7), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, 2-6 and 7-6 (7-5) in five hours and five minutes. If anyone had doubts, that final cleared them all up: the rivalry between the Swiss and the Spaniard was going to give great moments to tennis and it was Nadal who had the upper hand. Of the six duels played so far, he had won five.

Federer had lost his five previous matches against Nadal on clay and eThe Spaniard had a streak of 81 consecutive wins on that surface, one of the most unlikely records that the Spanish has. This is how they met in the Hamburg finalwhich was still an ATP Masters, and against all odds Federer won. In addition, he did it by going back and with a donut included in the third set (2-6, 6-2 and 6-0). Federer would only beat Nadal one more time on clay, in 2009 in Madrid.

It was possibly the most unequal game they have played. Nadal crushed the Swiss 6-1, 6-3 and 6-0 in the Roland Garros final to win their fourth consecutive Musketeers Cup. Federer simply had nothing to do. It was in that edition when Nicolás Almagro uttered that phrase “he will be 65 years old and will continue winning Roland Garros.” I wasn’t wrong.

It is considered the best game of all time. Nadal had lost two finals in a row against Federer at Wimbledon, but this time he won 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (6-8) and 9-7 after almost five hours. Nadal sent a powerful message to the world and to Federer: he was a specialist on land, but also a player of many carats on any surface. A few weeks later, the Mallorcan would snatch the number one spot in the world ranking.

Nadal had won four consecutive finals against Federer and had removed him from number one. The Swiss was playing on his territory this time and hoped to turn the situation around, but ended up losing in five sets (7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6 and 6-2). He couldn’t find a way to beat his great rival. The Swiss, distraught, burst into tears at the award ceremony. “This is killing me”.

This time the face to face was not on the track, but in the offices. After several years of impeccable relationship despite the rivalry, Federer and Nadal began to clash in 2011 over their vision of the professional circuit. Federer was the president of the Players Council and Nadal, its vice president. The tension was kept more or less secret until the Spaniard, during the 2012 Australian Open, stopped biting his tongue. “I disagree with him. It’s very easy to say ‘I’m not saying anything, everything is positive’ and I look like a gentleman and others get burned.“he released. The Spaniard defeated Federer in the semifinals of that Australian Open and weeks later he would resign from his position as vice president of the ATP.

Time calmed the waters and friendship and cordiality resurfaced in the following years.. Furthermore, Djokovic’s emergence took them out of the spotlight and between 2014 and 2016 they played just two matches against each other. The rivalry seemed to be coming to an end, especially after they barely competed in the second half of 2016 due to physical problems. There were some who considered them finished. But in January 2017 they showed that they are made of a different stuff. They reached the final in Australia and Federer won 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6 and 6-3. “In tennis there are no ties, but if there were, I would be proud to share it with you tonight, Rafa“, the Swiss told him after picking up the cup.

After playing together for the first time at the 2017 Laver, The 2022 edition left an image for posterity. Federer had announced that he was going to retire and wanted to do so in a doubles match with Nadal. What happened next transcended tennis, sports and almost life. Federer and Nadal, crying like children, caressing each other with their hands and unable to contain their emotions. Their last image together was the perfect summary of what they meant to each other.