“I wouldn’t consider him as a friend,” Rafael Nadal explains reason for not being a friend to Roger Federer despite great relationship

After several years of on-court rivarly against each other, Rafael Nadal finally explains why Roger Federer is not his friend.

“I wouldn’t consider him as a friend,” Rafael Nadal explains reason for not being a friend to Roger Federer despite great relationship

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (Image via Rafa Nadal Academy)

Despite being a central figure in the emotional farewell of Roger Federer, tennis great Rafael Nadal has finally revealed why he doesn’t consider the Swiss maestro a friend. Federer, who cemented his place as an all-time great of the sport, retired in September 2022, winning 20 major titles.

Although Novak Djokovic and Nadal have since surpassed the Swiss legend’s number of Slam titles, Federer remains the fan favorite. Notably, with this, the debate over who deserves to be named the greatest male player in history has been all over the internet.

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The rivalry between Nadal and Federer during their peak years has always been viewed as their mutual respect. In an interview with El Objective de La Sexta, the Spaniard explained that he admired Roger Federer, but they were never close on a friendship level.

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I wouldn’t consider him a friend. But someone familiar, with whom I have a great relationship. We have shared most of our careers. We have helped each other. We have also taken away a lot. We have achieved a level of self-demand that is difficult to repeat because we knew that we could not fail. That competition pushed us to the limit.

Nadal said in an interview with El Objectve de La Sexta

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were the only players to have finished six consecutive calendar years in the top two. The Spanish legend surpassed the Swiss in the number of Grand Slams in 2022. He won the Australian Open and the French Open that year to make it 22 major titles.

Rafael Nadal hails Alcaraz’s incredible level of tennis

Rafael Nadal has hailed fellow countryman Carlos Alcaraz for his incredible level of tennis. Alcaraz, who already has two Grand Slam titles at just 20, is rated to become one of the best players of his generation.

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Carlos Alcaraz, Rafael Nadal (Images via Imago)
Carlos has an incredible level of tennis, he is a super complete player in every sense. I don't see weaknesses in him like the ones I had at his age. He has all the ingredients to have an incredible career.
Nadal said

Rafael Nadal, who is yet to fully recover from his lingering hip injury, couldn’t feature in the Australian Open. However, in the three games the 38-year-old has played this season, he has lost only once.

On Wednesday, he announced that he would not be playing in next week’s Qatar Open as he was not completely ready.

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