Andre Agassi says there is no real friendship between Federer and Nadal

Are Nadal and Federer friends?


  • Total voters
    89

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
Can't stand post-retirement Andre Agassi.

But he's aged so well!
andreagassi.jpg

:p
 

KristaK

New User
I don't think they're friends, but I think they're friendly. They seemed pretty chummy at the Laver Cup last year. Since they're older, maybe they appreciate their rivalry more and what it meant to tennis.

On the other hand, clearly there's no love lost between Sampras/Agassi. In his book, Agassi begrudgingly showed Sampras respect as a player, but you could tell he can't stand Sampras as a person.
 
C

Chadillac

Guest
Im sure Fed calls friends the same as we do. They arent our best buddys because were playing them in a competitive tournament.

There is professional courtesy but thats where it ends.
 

Alba Barragan

Professional
Lol Fed who reportedly was half crazed as a youngster?. I don't think either of them is chill and relaxed about tennis, at all. And they would not win like they do if they were.

I'm talking about how they behave now and their current situation. I don't doubt Roger was just as crazy when he was younger, all ATG are immensely passionate and borderline obsessive when tennis is involved, that's what makes them champions. But before being athletes they're humans, and as they grow old they mature. As athletes they can remain just as competitive, but if their personality off the court changes that can influence their perspectives and approaches on the sport and rivalries. Fed is most likely just as dedicated as he was in the past, if not more, but he seems more relaxed and at ease with the rivalries and downsides of the sport than how he was when he was younger.
 

Crisstti

Legend
I don't think either that Rafa dislikes Novak at all. He seems to have disliked him earlier on (who wouldn't lol), and to have been rather upset about his losing streak, but they seem to get along fine. Peolpe thinking Rafa can't stand him should take a look at those pics of when they played some exo(s) in Argentina some years ago. They were very chummy. Rafa had also invited Novak for some exo in Spain, I think in 2012, which ended up not being played due to Rafa getting injured I think.
 

reaper

Legend
There's a documentary about Navratilova and Evert and the way their relationship developed. They became friends after tennis because the pressure of being opponents in the final of major tournaments prevented any real friendship developing while they were playing. Nadal and Federer will probably develop the same way. You're unlikely to socialise with your likely opponent in the final while on tour, or seek out a friendship with a tennis player in another country during any time they have away from the game. Their lives however are sufficiently intertwined and they appear to get on well, so a friendship will probably evolve once professional tennis is over for them.
 

jga111

Hall of Fame
´I don´t exactly know the relationship between them‘

He doesn’t know toodledoos and shouldn’t align Fedal with Sagassi.
 
STAGE 1: the common passion, the youthful playground, the competition

STAGE 2: the realisation that they have in common the fact that both of them will make boatload of money while playing tennis

STAGE 3: the realisation that life past tennis requires business acumen, and it is in their best interests to get along

:cool:
 

Red Rick

Bionic Poster
I honestly think that of Federer is the least friendly with the rest of the Big 4.

Perfectly willing to believe they get along well off court, but their offcourt friendship is the most marketed thing ever.
 

octobrina10

Talk Tennis Guru
@Zardoz7/12
The title of the thread: "Andre Agassi says there is no real friendship between Federer and Nadal."


Rafa has always said that they are not friends.

An excerpt from Rafa's recent interview published by Italian newspaper Gazzetta:

¤¤ Question: "But are you really friends with Roger or is there only esteem between you?"
RAFA: "The word friend is important to me. We cannot call anyone 'friend', my friends are the people I've known for many years and who are present in everyday life. With Federer I have a very good relationship: I would say that we are excellent companions."¤¤ (Translated from Italian)
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/nadal-news-2-0.496732/page-378#post-12310438
 
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mistik

Hall of Fame
This kind of threads are a bit funny. They are rivals for sure they arent real friends. Real friendship in this day and age isnt an easy thing.On the other hand it seems they get along pretty well but thats a different thing. Rafa always say his real friends in this life are his childhood friends the ones he has known since he was a kid.
 
D

Deleted member 742196

Guest
So idiotic. Of course they're not friends. Rafa can't speak any of Fed's languages, nor can Fed speak Spanish. They respect each other, that's it.

You don’t need to speak the same language to be friends, just have a common second language to bridge the gap.

I’ve got plenty of friends in China in mixed marriages, which requires a whole other level of intimacy.

German and Chinese, Chinese and French, Italian with Bosnian, Chinese with Japanese - all of them using rudimentary English as a medium for communication.

Heck, one of my own best friends speaks English as a second language while I fumble around with Spanish for a reverse effort.

It’s been my experience only native speakers of English, particularly folk coming from UK, US, Canada and Australia, are adamant everyone else converse in English with a degree of fluency, and often within a very narrow bandwidth of accents.

Language is not something that divides people.

Effort is.
 
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Incognito

Legend
The second part of your comment is rude and unnecessary. I do agree Roger seems to be the one who has been more open and even persistent in trying to establishing a real friendship between him and Rafa, but if Rafa doesn't seem very willing it's most likely because of his personality: he's just a terribly compromised competitor, much more passionate in the rivalry than Roger, who seems more chill and relaxed in his approach to the sport.


I think that AO 2009 trophy ceremony is an indication of Fed’s competitive nature. I don’t think he is less passionate than Nadal. He’s 36 and still playing.
 

Prabhanjan

Professional
In a true sense nobody is a friend of another unless the later gives a free meal all the time.

Compared to the earlier rivalries, one can say that they are friends.
 

tenisdecente

Hall of Fame
I think they have a fine relationship, but when you have all the factors in mind, a lot of business and convenience come to play
When they are done as tennis players, we can see how deep is this relationship, maybe Nadal invites Federer to fish at his yatch, and Fed does something similar in return. Who knows
 

HazBeen18

Rookie
When they are done as tennis players, we can see how deep is this relationship, maybe Nadal invites Federer to fish at his yatch, and Fed does something similar in return. Who knows

I can actually see the Federers and the Nadals (spouses and children included) going on a boating excursion together and having a grand old time. We're talking some years after retirement, when they are both grey. I think they'd both enjoy that a great deal tbh.
 

BHud

Hall of Fame
Agassi considered Pete his rival. Pete considered Agassi his biatch! And Agassi is now commenting on the dynamics of the Rafa/Fed relationship? LOL :p
 

Alba Barragan

Professional
I think that AO 2009 trophy ceremony is an indication of Fed’s competitive nature. I don’t think he is less passionate than Nadal. He’s 36 and still playing.

I'm not trying to put in question Roger's competitive nature or passion for the sport. I honestly think he's, if not the most, at least one of the most passionate and completely dedicated players to have ever played the game. It's hard to argue against it considering he could have left the sport a long time ago to live a happy and comfortable life yet he's still here. My point is about the difference in the personalities of each player and how, regardless of the fact both are equally competitive when it comes to tennis, the ways of managing their competitiveness vary from one to the other.
 

ChrisRF

Legend
I think it is just a matter of how you define friendship.

Some people only call a person a “friend” if they privately hang around together on a daily basis or at least more than once per week. And if they cannot see each other due to other obligations they are in frequent phone or social media contact. According to this definition anyone has one or two real friends at a time and maybe not more than a handful during his whole life. I tend to favour this definition myself. A “friend” is also someone whom you just tell EVERYTHING.

Secondly there are those who also call someone a “friend” with whom they only do one special activity regularly (for example playing tennis), but where further harmony in personal opinions etc. isn’t of much importance. I would call such a person a “mate” but not a “friend” myself.

And then there are others who were allegedly “friends” with everyone who goes in the same school class and says more than “hello” and “bye-bye” to them.

Of course Federer and Nadal are not real friends according to my definition. But they seem to be quite positive towards each other personally and admire the other one as a sports legend. That’s all, and that isn’t negative in any way. There are more possibilities than just love or hate or complete ignorance.
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
What is it about former top tennis players and their inability to keep track of their trophies? First Roddick, then Becker, now Agassi and Steffi. They're all multi-millionaires for pete's sake. Why can't they buy a few glass cabinets and stick them all in one of the many spare rooms of their vast mansions? o_O

It's hardly rocket science, is it??? :rolleyes:
 
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Nadalgaenger

G.O.A.T.
Was the comment about Fedal being the “best ambassadors” a subtle slight to Djokovic?

Are Agassi and Novak still at odds?
 

MeatTornado

Talk Tennis Guru
They're "friends from work" just like we all have. I'm sure they make small talk and ask about each other's families or whatever. But they're not going over each other's houses for dinner or going on vacation together.
 

Phoenix1983

G.O.A.T.
Doubt they're great friends.

But they're much more amicable than Pete and Andre ever were.

And as for Connors, Lendl and Mac...
 

clayqueen

Talk Tennis Guru
I tried to read Agassi's autobiography but gave up because I got fed up with him going on and on and on about how he hated tennis. He says his dad forced him to play as a child but he continued to play as a grown up and even came back on tour after a long break so he can't hate it that much and it's provided him with a nice life.
 

tenisdecente

Hall of Fame
I can actually see the Federers and the Nadals (spouses and children included) going on a boating excursion together and having a grand old time. We're talking some years after retirement, when they are both grey. I think they'd both enjoy that a great deal tbh.

Yeah, sounds like a cool plan. However, I think Nadal needs to marry first and have children, otherwise Fed's children will end being babysitters for Nadal's children :D

What is it about former top tennis players and their inability to keep track of their trophies? First Roddick, then Becker, now Agassi and Steffi. They're all multi-millionaires for pete's sake. Why can't they buy a few glass cabinets and stick them all in one of the many spare rooms of their vast mansions? o_O

It's hardly rocket science, is it??? :rolleyes:

We agree that Andre is not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, right? :D
 

Vish13

Semi-Pro
Does friendship exist in tennis between rivals? Andre Agassi gave an interesting answer to Marca a few days ago in Paris speaking about Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who became teammates at the Laver Cup last year. https://www.**************.org/tenn...no-real-friendship-between-federer-and-nadal/ Is this more sensationalism? If so I won't post links from that site. I think Agassi is wrong, Nadal and Federer are frenemies.

´I don´t exactly know the relationship between them but it´s clear that I don´t imagine being friend of someone with who you fight every day to be the best. I think that the word that definited my relationship with (Pete) Sampras was respect.

Rafa and Roger are our best ambassadors, for sure´, Agassi said. Then he also revealed something interesting: ´I don´t have any photo of mine at home as tennis player or any of my trophies either.

My trophies are in the gym where I trained for so many years and I don´t know where Steffi (Graf, his wife)´s are. Both me and Steffi were great tennis competitors but now we aren´t. It´s not that we want to forget this era but what we did at the time doesn´t make any difference with our current life.´

https://www.**************.org/imgb/60646/andre-agassi-says-there-is-no-real-friendship-between-federer-and-nadal.jpg

To me Agassi always tries finding ways to insert his name in a conversation that includes Federer, Nadal and Pete. I find it a futile attempt to place himself at same level as these guys.
 

clout

Hall of Fame
The Haiti Charity doubles match. Full match!
You can see Agassi-Sampass vs. reaction between Federer-Nadal!
Oh wow, I actually remember watching that match. Hard to believe that was over 8 years ago. Time surely does fly and Rafa only having 6 slams and 36 career titles at the time is an indicator of how long ago that was :eek:
 

Mainad

Bionic Poster
I tried to read Agassi's autobiography but gave up because I got fed up with him going on and on and on about how he hated tennis. He says his dad forced him to play as a child but he continued to play as a grown up and even came back on tour after a long break so he can't hate it that much and it's provided him with a nice life.

They say you always hate the one you love. :cool:
 

Vrad

Professional
This is not news. Federer himself has said before (not speaking specifically about Nadal, but in general), that it's very difficult to have friendships on the tour. The only times you are together is when you're in the same tournament practicing and competing. You don't have the time to pal around with other players much.

Agassi is absolutely right to imagine that it's unlikely that Federer and Nadal have been able to build a true friendship because of this exact reason.

They are probably friendly with each other, and have also known to have vacationed together, but it's highly unlikely they consider each other friends. More like good acquaintances.
 
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