Besides sharing an intense rivalry, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have always been huge admirers of each other. Their on-court, and subsequently off-court equation, grew so much that fans believed that they were good friends. Playing on this narrative and after the release of the Amazon Prime documentary ‘Federer: The Final Twelve Days’, both the legends recently posted something about each other.
Just a few months ago, Rafael Nadal said in an interview that he isn’t really good friends with Roger Federer. He didn’t mean it harshly, but just that they aren’t as close as many might perceive them to be. But despite that, Federer is the only person from the ATP Tour who stays in touch with Nadal constantly.
On Friday, Nadal shared pictures of him and Federer, practicing at the 2022 Laver Cup. This was Federer’s last tournament before retirement. The 22-time Grand Slam champion surprisingly called the Swiss legend a ‘friend’ when he wrote –
“Congratulations Roger my friend. This was a weekend, I will never forget. I can’t wait to watch Twelve Final Days.”
Interestingly, within a few minutes of Nadal putting it up on his Instagram story, Federer and his team had a one line reply by resharing the Spaniard’s story on the same social media platform. The 20-time Grand Slam champion replied –
“Thanks for your support pal. A weekend we will never forget.”
Federer replies a few minutes later:
“Thanks for your support pal. A weekend we will never forget” https://t.co/HYgYys2Ubu pic.twitter.com/0r4nHmZzc8
— Olly (@Olly_Tennis_) June 21, 2024
The gap and the timing of this exchange made many fans feel that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are overdoing this ‘bromance’ thing, which is coming across as cringey.
Cringe!
— Pavvy G (@pavyg) June 21, 2024
PR in full force
— Lucas Benítez (@Lucas51192) June 21, 2024
Next episode:
They’re expecting their first baby
— no noncense (@no__noncense) June 22, 2024
Omg this is getting nauseating at this point. No matter who it is, it’s media on steroids.
— egrrrrl (@egrrrrl8446) June 21, 2024
To die-hard Fedal fans, this may look very rosy and nice between the two old rivals-turned-friend. But the impression gone across is that both the players’ PR teams have gone on an overdrive, probably to satisfy Amazon Prime Video, the broadcasters of the documentary.
Such exchanges also make many media outlets go wild and that helps marketers in the tennis establishment too. Although Rafael Nadal is an integral part of the Roger Federer documentary, the question remains whether their friendship is for real or is it just a stunt for business purposes.
Is Rafael Nadal-Roger Federer Friendship All but a Stunt?
No, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s friendship isn’t entirely a stunt. But they have shown some great camaraderie, mainly to promote the documentary. While Nadal does wish Federer well in life and for all his endeavors and vice-a-versa, the timing of it looks a bit fishy.
Novak Djokovic was the first player to burst this bubble of their apparent friendship to the western media. He has repeatedly accused the western world, which includes the tennis establishment and many marketers who run the sport, of favoring them over him. Djokovic alleged that this is because he is from Eastern Europe and not from Western Europe like Nadal and Federer.
In 2020, Djokovic asked both of them to be a part of PTPA. But Rafael Nadal rejected his invite since he could not afford to go against the establishment. Roger Federer followed suit soon enough and in fact, tweeted in support of Nadal at the expense of Djokovic.
So Federer and Nadal have been accused by some quarters of tennis world of not doing enough for their fellow players to better the game of tennis and have been rather selfish for the positions they have achieved in the game. This remains debatable for sure. Perhaps, Federer and Nadal knowing each other from early on and having similar values and ideals despite being such different people, makes them a formidable team in anything they take up.
