Nadal weeps as Federer plays his last professional match. The 38-year-old Spaniard and the Basel native, who is five years older, were companions in the truest sense of the word - as rivals and friends at the same time.
The picture has gone around the world. Although his wife was heavily pregnant at home, Rafael Nadal fulfilled Roger Federer's last wish as an active tennis player in September 2022. He flew to London especially to play doubles with the Swiss at the Laver Cup - his farewell as a professional athlete. The picture of the two superstars sitting next to each other in tears went around the world.
If Rafael Nadal had not appeared on the scene a few years after he himself had ascended the tennis throne, Roger Federer would in all probability have more than 20 Grand Slam titles to his name. But his career would also be a lot less emotional. Nadal has made the maestro, who hovered untouchably above everyone else for a while, more human.
Respect and friendship
As different as the two were on the court - here the brute warrior from Mallorca, there the unsurpassed elegance of the filigree technician from Basel - they were just as similar off it. Well-mannered, always polite and decent, respectful, but also ambitious and willing to subordinate almost everything to success. In the beginning, it was probably their shared clothing supplier that brought them together, but the longer they lived together, the more they shared their common experiences. Probably no one else could understand the emotions in these many big finals as well as their biggest rival.
Nadal, a right-hander in "normal" life, was a fearful opponent for Federer for a long time. No one was as unpleasant for him to play as the tireless left-hander with the special spin in his balls. But the Swiss accepted the challenge and it spurred on his ambition all the more. On the other hand, Nadal never lost respect for his predecessor as No. 1, even during long winning streaks.
To the advantage of both
Thanks to the growing friendship between them, they both became even more popular. The mostly younger Nadal fans, for whom Federer was often a little too polished and perfect, developed more respect for him. And the Federer fans, who were opposed to the unwanted upstart Nadal, came to the conclusion that he couldn't be so bad after all. Nadal earned a lot of sympathy when he embraced and comforted the weeping Federer after his defeat in the 2009 Australian Open final.
Novak Djokovic, who disturbed this harmony at the top of world tennis, was the one to suffer. The Federer and Nadal fans mostly ganged up on the Serb, who was not afraid to make his ambitions very clear and loud. Some saw this as disrespectful and disrespectful - something Federer or Nadal would never have done.
Role models for the next generation
Nadal and Federer also shaped an era with their longevity, which was particularly astonishing in the case of the injury-prone Spaniard, an era that will probably not exist for a long time and which tennis nostalgics mourn. But they have also set an example that shows: Even the biggest rivals on the court can respect each other and even become friends.
What was unthinkable in the days of John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi or Boris Becker and Michael Stich, who downright hated each other, has become the norm for the new generation around Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alongside countless wonderful matches, it is perhaps the most valuable legacy of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
SDA
