Rafael Nadal has admitted it “means a lot” to be congratulated by Roger Federer following his triumph at the Australian Open on Sunday.
“It means a lot to me,” Rafa said after reading Federer’s words. “We have an amazing relationship – we did amazing things together. For me it’s a great honour to be part of his era.
“Together we have enjoyed and lived amazing moments of the history of our sport. To receive a message like this from him means a lot to me.
“I wish him well, he knows, and I really hope that we will be able to play again in important stages.”
Sources: 7NEWS, express.co.uk
The civility of Roger is testimony to his character . Same for Rafa .. Novak and others should learn by example .
I agree that Rafa has to be more consistent through any given match on his serve . He tends to have lapses from being nervous in the quality of his service games . Expending lots of energy to get a break like twice in the 5th set onu to double fault and make unforced errors to give back the breaks . Rafa is great but must steady his nerves and just serve to win on every point .on service returns , it’s great that Rafa is trying to take the return earlier by playing near the baseline , especially on the 2nd serves on the add Court . Good move by his team !
Both rafa and Roger are still both my favourite players and play fare and great at all times
I wholeheartedly agree Rachel. They are truly outstanding tennis players of course but they combine that with class. Their conduct both on and off court sets them apart. This is why they admire and respect each other so much and why they are both such great role models and ambassadors for the Tour. The rest have a long way to go to match them and probably never will. Medvedev is very talented and will win more Majors but he must treat the spectators with respect in order to earn their respect. It is not a “given”. Rafa has always done this. He has never displayed the arrogance that Medvedev displayed on Sunday. To roll his eyes and mutter “boring” during a speech in which he was being complimented for his great efforts was downright rude! He is a 26 year old multi-millionaire who has been on the Senior Tour for years. There are just no excuses for behaviour like that. He may be quirky and funny at times and of course a very good player but he needs to learn some manners. Rafa and Roger have set the bar very high indeed. I feel very privileged to have been able to watch them compete with such great success for so many years. What an era!
I agree with Isable Lee I was astounded by the action muttering very rude remarks and he also had a rapid conversation with Rafa when they were stood on the platform and somebody was making a opening speech we will not know what he was moaning about but he needs to learn some manners
Medvedev isn’t an immature child who doesn’t know how to fight. He was thoroughly dominating in the first two sets. It’s just that Rafa has more match experience than him. And, experience and wisdom comes only with age and more matches under your belt. After seeing Meddy utterly dismantling Nole at the USO, nobody would call him a muppet. His child like antics can only be attributed to his young age. By far, he’s the best among the bunch and very much better than people like Zverev and Tsitsipas. 😃😄😎😎
Rahul, Medvedev is just rude. When someone with such as high a profile as he, responsibilities come along with that. I don’t know how he was raised, but not all of us were raised by parents who taught us civility, good values, and grace in the face of defeat. Maybe he has to learn, or relearn, what some of his responsibilities are now that he has a worldwide platform. I don’t dislike him, yet.
About his match with Rafa. Anyone who watched the match could see that both players made some really awful errors. The match could have gone either way after Rafa won the third set. My feeling is the fact that Rafa was so happy just to be able to play was a major impetus for him to win. Surely the crowd support helped, but Rafa was on his own to either get his second Norman or go down with another loss at the AO.
If Rafa wants to win more slams he is going to have to clean up some sloppy playing. I don’t know why his serves were not working but I can compare it to this. When typing was a major part of my workday, I could type 90+ WPM without error. BUT, some days my typing was rife with errors. It was as if I had two left hands, I am a righty.
I am looking forward to another Rafa-Medvedev match.
Rahul, no one is denying Medvedev’s immense talent, his defence capabilities and ability to fight. He brings something quirky and different to tennis and there is no doubt that he currently stands above his peers, but the fact remains that he IS immature in his attitude. He will be 26 years old next week, on 11th February and having had the experience of performing on the biggest tennis stages, I would have expected better behaviour from him by now.
I do have a bit of sympathy for Medvedev in the way he was booed by the crowd but, to a greater extent, he bought it on himself. His behaviour in previous matches and the final had a cumulative effect and they don’t forget.
He can’t have it both ways – disrespecting the crowd by referring to them as idiots and having a low IQ, abusing the umpire and ball kids, then expecting to be liked and cheered on. Rafa has earned respect and a place in the hearts of many people and most of crowd came to see him create history, so they were on his side. Medvedev goading them on just made things worse for himself.
If he continues to play the pantomime villain, he must accept the consequences. It’s not too late to turn things around if he wants to feel the love, but he needs to rethink his attitude. A good way to start would be to drop the arrogance and channel his frustrations in a different and more positive way.
Forever Fedal! 💙💙
As a spectator, I find Medvedev to be a puzzle as he seems to care about what people think; yet he
deliberately is “snarky” as though he could not give a damn. Rolling his eyes, calling the moment “boring”, calling the fans “low IQ”, like an immature child. It comes across as arrogant and entitled.
Then he presents as a wounded person who has lost a childhood idealism. Aussie fans certainly
tell it as they feel, and give as good as they get. Med comes across as an amazing player, but somewhat incomprehensible.
Immature and self-centered is a better world. These are child like antics!!!
I’ll never forget that lovely time at the end of (I think?) 2009 when they played the two exhibition matches, one in Zurich and one in Madrid, and we saw pictures of them meeting at the airports and spending time with each other’s families, as if they were two pals from boarding school going to stay with each other over the holidays!
What a match congratulations rafa l was in tears when you won the match and l am so so proud of you hope your journey home is good and you get some sleep 😴 vamos rafa xx
Sams! It was such an emotional match. I wanted him to win so badly I couldn’t watch all the points
Of course Roger is a good person and gentleman like Rafa with class Rafa your fans love you ❤️👍❤️🏆💯🇪🇸👑
no body is classier or kinder than Nadel… Definitely on e of a kind.
Fedal was, is and will be always special.
👍👏