Rafael Nadal has stated why he does not consider Roger Federer a friend, despite having played a major role in the farewell of the Swiss maestro to tennis. In September 2022, after winning 20 Grand Slam titles and establishing his status as an all-time great, 42-year-old Federer announced his retirement from tennis.

Since then, Nadal and Novak Djokovic have both surpassed Federer in the number of Slam victories; however, there is still a lot of debate as to who is the best male player in history. Nevertheless, the competition that existed between the Spanish player and the Swiss star during their prime is still well known, and both have consistently shown their appreciation for one another.

But in an interview, Nadal clarified that although he admires Federer, the two are not particularly close friends. Nadal said: “I wouldn’t consider him a friend. But someone familiar with whom I have a great relationship. We have shared most of our careers. We have helped each other. We have also taken away a lot. We have achieved a level of self-demand that is difficult to repeat because we knew that we could not fail. That competition pushed us to the limit.”

Rafael Nadal in 2024

Ranked no.646, the Spaniard played his last match on the 5^th of January when he surrendered to world no.42 Jordan Thompson 5-7 7-6(6) 6-3 in the quarter in Brisbane (draw).

Until now, during this year the Spaniard has an overall 2-1 win-loss record.