During the early years of the Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal rivalry, the Swiss star once chastised the latter’s uncle, Toni Nadal. Regardless of their rocky start, they have grown cordial over the years. The veteran Spanish coach recently compared the Fedal rivalry to that of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Two years after their first meeting, Federer and Nadal faced off in the final of the Italian Open 2006 in the sixth match of their rivalry. The Spaniard led the head-to-head 4-1 coming into the tie on his favourite surface. However, Federer was the more accomplished player with seven Grand Slam titles compared to his opponent’s 1 at the time.
The match got off to a great start with the duo splitting the first two sets one each after tiebreakers. After Rafael Nadal bagged the third, Roger Federer surprisingly let his frustration spill over. He believed Toni was coaching his nephew from the sidelines, a practice banned on the tour until recently.
The then-World No.1 objected to Nadal allegedly getting tips from his uncle-coach during the match. After seeing one such exchange, he mocked Toni (Express). He also lambasted the officials for not ‘keeping an eye’ on the Spaniards.
“Is that all right, Toni?”
Federer found his feet to bounce back and win the fourth set, sending the Italian Open 2006 final into the decider. He and Nadal went neck-and-neck in the fifth set as well. The 20-time Grand Slam winner, though, squandered two championship points. He also fumbled a big lead in the tiebreak to ultimately lose 6-7(0), 7-6(5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(5) and hand Nadal the title.
The fixture lasted five hours and five minutes, the longest Fedal match ever. Ironically, their only other meeting in the Italian Open, the 2013 final, was one of their shortest ties. Lasting only one hour and eight minutes, it was the third-quickest Fedal fixture.
Roger Federer and Toni Nadal have been on good terms since rocky start
Despite getting off on the wrong foot, Toni Nadal and Federer seemingly made amends and got friendlier as time passed. The veteran coach has professed his admiration for his star pupil’s biggest rival many times. Recently, he admitted that Nadal is not as elegant or technically gifted as Federer (Super Deportivo Radio via Tennis365).
Toni Nadal called the Swiss legend an ‘incredible’ player, saying he did things on the court that no one ever has. Toni compared him to Lionel Messi while saying Nadal is like Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Federer is an incredible player for me. What he has done and achieved. What I saw him do on a tennis court I have not seen anyone do.”
This was just the latest instance of Toni showering praise on Federer. While he has also spoken in favour of Novak Djokovic, his admiration for Federer far outweighs that for the Serb. Over the years, the retired World No.1 has also grown to show respect for the Spanish coach. This in no way affected the intensity of Fedal matches on the court.
