Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal: Are They Really Friends Off-Court?

Recently, a video has been showing, off and on, on YouTube featuring Federer and Nadal practicing for a TV spot. It has been described by some as ‘the best tennis video ever’. A veritable giggle-fest with Rafa and Roger behaving like goofy kids. People who have seen this video have been amused, amazed and touched. Was it possible, they wondered, that these guys, who try to beat the hell out of each other on the courts, had genuine affection for each other?

Well, I managed to see the clip before it got pulled for the umpteenth time.Federer appears very relaxed. He is giggling most of the time.Nadal is laughing a lot too but he is a little tense occasionally.His face suddenly assumes a serious mien. Or he starts fussing with his hair and every now and then he folds his arms across his chest (a defensive gesture).This video shows that it is possible for Roger and Rafa to share some playful moments. But it would be a stretch to imagine that it shows they have real affection.

How likely is it that Nadal loves Federer? Nadal was in his teens and still not a serious contender when Federer started his dominance, striding the tennis world like a Colossus. So it is likely that Nadal regards Federer as a hero he looks up to and whose exploits he wishes to emulate. Nadal has made no secret of his admiration for Federer in his various pressers.When Rafa gets defeated by Roger, he may not be surprised.After all, Roger is the greatest. When Rafa wins, he is no doubt thrilled that he was able to beat his hero. He may feel a little guilty as witness his apology to Federer after beating him in the French Open 2008 or his low key locker room celebrations after his Wimbledon victory the same year. It is unlikely that Nadal, after his victories, considers himself Federer’s equal, let alone his superior. Let us not forget that there is a 5-year age difference between the two. Nadal and other youngsters, who beat Federer, expect the great man to decline and be ready to pass the baton.

But Federer will not accept that he is in decline, nor does he think it is time for him to pass the baton. Much like Queen Victoria, he does not want to pass the baton (or should we say the crown?) to the next generation. The generation after that may perhaps have a shot at it.

Federer noticed Rafa only after he started troubling him. Is there any reason why Federer should feel kindly toward the tennis matador?  Is it conceivable that Federer feels no resentment toward Nadal who twice deprived him of a Calendar Grand Slam? Unless Federer is a cross between Jesus Christ and Mahatma Gandhi, it is highly unlikely. It must be remembered that this same Nadal at one time looked like a permanent block to Federer’s aspirations for even a career Grand Slam. If Fate had not fortuitously removed him from Federer’s path in 2009, there might have been a permanent question mark against Federer’s GOAT status. Nadal drove Federer to tears at the Australian Open 2009 thwarting his first attempt to equal Sampras’ Grand Slam record, that too at a venue where Federer considered himself the better player. Then in 2010, Nadal came back from the wilderness in time to prevent Federer from equaling or breaking Pete Sampras’ record for the maximum number of weeks atop the rankings. There is no doubt that Nadal has been the proverbial thorn in Federer’s side since 2005.

Federer has made no secret of the fact that he considers himself to be supremely talented, that dominating the tennis world for years was his due no less than his right. The trouble with Federer is that he reads everything the media writes about him. Between 2003 and 2007, the media ran out of superlatives to describe the talent that is Federer. Fans went wild over his graceful style and ‘complete’ game and could not have enough of his victories. Far from being bored with the predictable results, they were addicted to craving more of the same. Fed on superlatives and surrounded by such adulation, it is no wonder that Federer began to believe that Federer was Tennis and Tennis Federer. So every tournament he entered was all about him, whether he won or not. When Federer lost the Australian Open in 2009, he made no attempt to prevent himself from hogging the limelight by sobbing and expressing his frustration. Federer lost. That was the big story. That was the ‘big tragedy for everyone’ as he stated in a Cincy press conference recently. Strangely enough, he brought it up again at another press conference at Cincy. Why is he bringing it up again and again? At any rate, it is clear that Federer does not feel that he deprived Nadal of any legitimate attention.

At Wimbledon this year, after his defeat by Berdych, he made a strange unconnected remark about Del Potro. He claimed that it was a pity that Del Po wasn’t around as otherwise he could have had a run at world number 1. Why was Federer saying this when Nadal had just become no.1 again? Did he think Nadal unworthy? More likely, it was an expression of his resentment toward Nadal. It was bad enough that Nadal had prevented him from amassing unbeatable records. Worse still, the media, the same media which at one time could not find enough superlatives to describe Federer’s genius, was actually debating whether Federer was indeed the GOAT. It was raising questions like, was he even the best player of his era when he could not consistently beat Nadal, when he came off second best in most encounters? This kind of debate was galling in the extreme considering Nadal did not have even half of Federer’s GS titles (at that time). His favorable head to head with Federer was paradoxically because Federer was good enough to meet him consistently on clay courts but he was not good enough to meet Federer consistently on hardcourts.Yet the media questioned whether Federer was the GOAT! If Nadal had not come back in 2010 and again grabbed the top ranking, the debate would not have been renewed. So, in all probability, Federer must have wished for anybody but Nadal to have been atop the rankings. And looking for likely contenders, he would have picked Del Po. There were other supremely talented guys like Murray and Djokovic but they had not shown the steely grit and determination needed to rise to dominance. Only Del Po had the potential to do it but, unfortunately, he was out of action!

So for those wondering whether these two bitter on-court rivals are really very fond of each other off-court, I would say, sorry, ‘not bloody likely’!