We knew he was going to win Slams – Roger Federer recalls early rivalry against Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer has opened up on his rivalry as well as friendship with Rafael Nadal. Federer and Nadal shared an epic rivalry during their heydays but off the court, they are really good friends. 

Meanwhile, Roger Federer recalled the time when he was at the top of the tennis world and then came Rafael Nadal to challenge him. Federer noted that Nadal had the game and talent to win Slams and how the two developed respect for each other

“I think the world is a bit puzzled sometimes how we can be good friends. But I think it’s possible to play tough and fair, but yet on the side be friendly. When he hit the tour, you could feel that there was something really special there. He was going to win Slams, we knew it. I was at the top at the time, so for him to respect me was a very natural, normal thing,” Federer said on his documentary Federer: Twelve Final Day on Amazon Prime.

Federer wanted to keep ruling the tennis world but Nadal was pushing him to the limits as he was rising through the ranks.

“And for me, I always thought it’s very nice to support young guys coming through, so I think the relationship kicked off on a very friendly manner. And then comes obviously the time where the rivalry starts kicking in. I lost my first match against him and in the first instance, it was, like, “I don’t want to have this guy here.” I like being at the top alone. So I have to really find a way and dig deeper and look into myself, saying, like, “Okay, how am I going to deal with this now”, because it was a bit of a mind-bender.

Federer recalled that Nadal was shy to speak his own mind in the early stages but became more confident as time went on.

“I just couldn’t quite figure him out and unlock him. I remember him as a young boy being very shy, struggled to give you the eye contact, you know and all that. And he always said, “Oh, whatever Roger wants, I’m happy with that.” And then as time went by, he became a very strong personality, more confident as well and wanted his own ways, which I was happy to see,” Federer said.

Federer and Nadal faced each other on 40 occasions, with the latter winning 24 matches whereas the former won 16 games. The Swiss Maestro retired after winning 103 ATP titles, including 20 Slams.