Rafael Nadal: Why Rafa's Apology to Roger Federer Is Bad for Australian Open

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have been the two most dominant male tennis players of this generation. Things got more interesting between them when Nadal criticized Federer just before the start of the Australian Open for not speaking out to improve player conditions. 

This verbal tiff was going to add some spark to a rivalry that was always entertaining on the court, but lacked a certain flare that Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras had. Instead, Nadal has issued an apology and the two stars have buried the hatchet. 

Here is what Nadal said about the incident (from the Associated Press):

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"Probably I am wrong telling that to (the media), especially because these things can stay, must stay in the locker room," Nadal said.

"I always had fantastic relationship with Roger. I still have fantastic relationship with Roger. Just I said we can have different views about how the tour needs to work. That's all."

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Nadal and Federer don't have to be ripping each other apart in the media for their rivalry to be interesting because we know that if/when they do meet at this year's Australian Open it will be a good match. 

Just imagine if there was some extra beef between them heading into a potential match, though. Having a great match on the court is one thing, but knowing that the two sides don't like each other makes for a more interesting dynamic. 

They will always respect each other, how could you not given all that they have accomplished on the court, but the rivalry needs something new to generate more mainstream interest. 

Nadal's apology to Federer was the right move, because he shouldn't have publicly called him out for something like that. Still, it would have been great to see these two at each other going into a grand slam tournament. 

Instead, the Australian Open will have to settle for Nadal and Federer being cordial with one another, and Novak Djokovic just hanging around waiting to knock both of them out of the tournament. 

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