Little Musings On Sports Rivalry, Federer, Nadal And Tennis:

Little musings on sports rivalry, federer, nadal and tennis:

Bit of a treat for fedal fans who don't have access to them gushing about each other in other languages, in this French interview Roger actually says he thinks his relationship with Rafa is one of the most unique and one-of-a-kind in his personal life. Simply because no other person has occupied so many diverging 'adjectifs' basically in his life. He agrees with the interviewer saying that only Rafa occupies this weird middle ground of being his biggest career 'adversary' who has, in a way, for 14 years stood between him and his career goals but also a kind of 'working partner' (in raising money for charities, promoting the sports, and sharing sponsorship events, etc) and most strangely, something he doesn't share with his other big rivals, also a friend.

Both Nadal and Federer have talked a lot about having such great respect for each other but in here I think it's the first time we can kind of get a full glimpse why because it appears Roger also finds it a bit bizzarre and doesn't know what to make of it in the beginning. He gives the perfect example by saying that Rafa is the only person in the world that he can call up to play an exhibition or raise money for charity with, even though he mentions Novak and Andy as his great rivals as well. This is because he knows for sure Rafa will show up just as he will when Rafa calls him. He talks about this strange thing that we've heard them mention in Laver Cup about how they've discovered how similar they actually are, in ways of thinking and approaching the game but completely different in anything else and that's why we see them enjoying Laver Cup so much. Because it's the only time that these 'contending adjectifs' sort of kinda blur together. Unrestricted by contending for titles on opposite sides, they can, for the first time, be completely open with each other, and realise that no one else is as big a fan of the sport as they are.

I think in a way what truly shows here is that both Roger and Rafa realise there's no one in the world that they can share this unique bond with because they are, in every sense of the word, the only two that can be each other's 'equals', they fostered their career growing up in the same era, and for decades were the only two dominating the game. That's why Roger has subtly mentioned in the past that when it comes to sensitive issues in tennis or his career, Rafa is the only person he can share it with and knows 100% that he'll understand and that he won't bertray him to anyone else. Similarly, whenever asked about crucial issues such as the politics of the game etc, Rafa has always been firmly consistent in making sure that him and Roger are standing together on the matter.

Being at the top is lonely.

Especially in individual sports such as tennis when so much is at stake within continuous periods of tournaments, winning and losing can become banal at some point because you know you only have yourself to keep yourself in control all the time, to win enough to have a career but to lose enough to still value the wins.

But the unique bond, this 'middle ground' of competitive sports that we don't see anywhere else in history, is perhaps what makes this era the golden age of tennis. Unlike Agassi or Sampras, who never really quite accepted the other at the top, Nadal and Federer fully embraced their 'duality'.

They recognised their matches as the best moments in their careers even when they oftentimes had to be at the losing side, they constantly used their rivalry to raise money for charity together, and most importantly, they want themselves to be remembered as each the halves that together made so much more than the sum of one.

There's no draws in tennis. But what made Federer and Nadal so great is, as Federer said, they would've been happy to accept a draw anyway, so long as it is each other on the opposite side of the net. Their love for the game and for the extraordinary magic that they knew they were creating together have trascended their will to simply win over each other.

Being at the top is lonely, but Federer and Nadal have discovered the professional sport's 'sweet spot' if you like. No matter how many battles or grand slams contended, they both knew that their bond and respect for each other will remain unchanged.

For the 2 greatest in histories, they get to make their own rules, because they know now that winning is so much better when you have someone to share it with.