I suppose Federer did treat Nadal as his friend and rival.

After winning Shanghai Masters 2017 today, in the ceremony section, Federer actually said, and I quote, 'It's a wonderful moment for me and my career to be back here playing so well against my GOOD friend and rival, Rafael. Congratulations on a great run in Beijing, you said yourself, also in Shanghai'.

Well, if Federer and Nadal can show mutual respect for each other, surely we fans can, right? I guess sometimes a lot of us just get annoyed by each player's rabid fans that post so many troll comments and begin attacking defensively or offensively and eventually let the situation out of control.

Now, as Federer already won Shanghai, I think the best strategy for Nadal is to skip Basel and play Paris to secure YE No.1. As for WTF, as long as Federer maintains healthy, I don't think Nadal stands a chance. However, Federer, at his current age is more susceptible to fatigue and Nadal might have a chance to finally grasp a WTF title.

Also, it is interesting to see in the ceremony Nadal spoke 'Love Shanghai' in Chinese, which was in fact very accurate with good pronunciation. Federer spoke 'Love Tennis, Love Shanghai' in Chinese, which was more difficult thus less impressive.
 
Last edited:

Incognito

Legend
It’s exactly compliments like that that made Nadal lose all those matches to Fed. Nadal has gone soft on him. I want their matches to be unpredictable like in their prime years.:cool:
 

BeatlesFan

Bionic Poster
I want their matches to be unpredictable like in their prime years.:cool:

Their matches weren't unpredictable at all in their prime. Everyone (including Roger) expected to lose to Nadal everywhere except grass and indoors. The mental dominance meant Fed lost many of their matches before he even stepped on court.
 

every7

Hall of Fame
I found it pretty pathetic and embarrassing from the speaker to MAKE Nadal and Federer say stuff like that. Especially for Nadal who had just lost a final. Cringeworthy

I agree totally. Very stupid and not really understanding the mental states of the players afterwards. Forcing warriors who have literally just stopped off the court to say this schmaltzy stuff was pretty annoying. To Federer's credit he was extremely professional as always and Nadal dealt with it well under the circumstances (he was not happy after this match absolutely). The craps these guys have to put up with.... they earn their appearances money dealing with it (stupid questions / over zealous and clueless interviewers etc. etc.)
 

Polvorin

Professional
Thanks, Senti. I knew you would understand. Much gutted. :(
It probably doesn't make you feel better but this match looked a lot more competitive than a lot of past indoor matches between them. That is a testament to how well Rafa is playing right now.
 
Last edited:

tennis4me

Hall of Fame
The last paragraph was translated from Chinese, thus the 'wut', 'wat', 'que' from everyone. We all know what that's supposed to say. lol
 

Fedforever

Hall of Fame
Am I the only one who actually doesn't like this bromance thing?

Seems like I am.

I have decidedly mixed feelings. It was touching at the end of the Laver Cup - I admit to getting the snivels. And showing kids you can behave respectfully with your rivals is good.

But I'm unsure whether marketing Brand Fedal in this way is a good idea. Seems to me it creates a trap for you later on when you're marketing something like this. What happens if they have an argument? And I seriously don't think that Fed should be tweeting pictures of Nadal showing his underwear. Because inevitably teenage girls misread things like this and when Fed and Nadal get sick of the whole thing those fans will be the ones who get the blame, as if they should have known better.

Still, maybe I'm taking this all too seriously. I just wish they'd be a bit less obvious about the whole thing.
 

Fedforever

Hall of Fame
On the contrary,Nadal doesn't, I'm afraid.

He did say in 2014 that they were not friends as he defines his friends as people he grew up with and sees every day. So yes, under his definition they aren't. They did seem friendly at the Laver Cup though - I think it would have been difficult to fake over three days.
 

smoledman

G.O.A.T.
It was predictable on CLAY. Everywhere else, a toss up.

I think 2006 Roma mentally devastated Roger forever on clay. He put in his career best performance on that surface and still lost to a guy who just can NOT lose on the red dirt. That was the turning point in the rivalry where Roger only now is climbing out of it. He even points to the idea that the mental scarring is beginning to lift. However, all it would take is losing to Rafa in Australia to put an end to that.
 

JMR

Hall of Fame
I agree totally. Very stupid and not really understanding the mental states of the players afterwards. Forcing warriors who have literally just stopped off the court to say this schmaltzy stuff was pretty annoying.

Back in the 1970s, the official motto of the Chinese national table tennis team was, "Friendship first, competition second."
 

every7

Hall of Fame
Back in the 1970s, the official motto of the Chinese national table tennis team was, "Friendship first, competition second."

I hope it is still like that today. The best warriors should be very aggressive and violent in the fights, but as soon as the battle / war is finished, the resentments should end and friendship should begin. Keep it all contained in the battle. The opposite of that is idiots like Berdych or Rosol who don't fight enough in the games, but then have bad feelings afterwards that haven't been dealt with in the fight that fester. Very bad.

I think Federer and Nadal are both two of the best at figuring out a way to stop thinking about bad losses after not too long.
 

junior74

Bionic Poster
Back in the 1970s, the official motto of the Chinese national table tennis team was, "Friendship first, competition second."

I just had to:
tomhankspingpong.gif
 

JMR

Hall of Fame
I hope it is still like that today. The best warriors should be very aggressive and violent in the fights, but as soon as the battle / war is finished, the resentments should end and friendship should begin. Keep it all contained in the battle.

That's great in theory, but in practice the Chinese table tennis policy resulted in a lot of implicit match fixing, particularly when two Chinese players faced off in the late rounds of a tournament. Many Western observers felt those matches had designated winners and losers -- like Venus vs. Serena in the earliest days of their rivalry, but worse.
 

every7

Hall of Fame
That's great in theory, but in practice the Chinese table tennis policy resulted in a lot of implicit match fixing, particularly when two Chinese players faced off in the late rounds of a tournament. Many Western observers felt those matches had designated winners and losers -- like Venus vs. Serena in the earliest days of their rivalry, but worse.

Well my approach of being aggressive and violent during the fights would never allow for something like match fixing. It's interesting to see the effects comradeship had on that competition. Do you think they felt as long as one of the Chinese competitiors won all the Chinese players won in a sense and that's why they allowed for that?

I would never once say that any Williams Sisters match was ever fixed. Do you think any of their matches were? You could tell the warmth they had for each other meant they couldn't embrace their normal competitive instincts on the surface like they normally would. It's a very strong bond.

With Federer and Nadal it's different. They love each other off the court but when the match starts they will be blood and also a lot of tears near the court. Then straight after they are friends again. That's sport and competition at it's absolute best.
 

Elektra

Professional
I love their Bromance but let's be serious, they are older now and they don't have the luxury to be heated alpha males having feuds. They are working together to keep themselves on the spotlight. They know what they represent to the sport and they are giving the fans what they want. It is nostalgia, it is love, passion and drive.
 

Fedforever

Hall of Fame
I love their Bromance but let's be serious, they are older now and they don't have the luxury to be heated alpha males having feuds. They are working together to keep themselves on the spotlight. They know what they represent to the sport and they are giving the fans what they want. It is nostalgia, it is love, passion and drive.

Yes. I believe it's also well-known in psychology that if you act as though you have a certain emotion you will end up feeling it for real. So if they continue to act friendly they will eventually become friends whether they originally intended it or not.
 

Sentinel

Bionic Poster
It probably doesn't make you feel better but this match looked a lot more competitive than a lot of past indoor matches between them. That is a testament to how well Rafa is playing right now.
We know that. He played very well in the matches prior to the final, so obviously a lot of us felt he had the edge in the final. He definitely is in cracking form right now, and i fully expect him to win WTF.
 

Polvorin

Professional
We know that. He played very well in the matches prior to the final, so obviously a lot of us felt he had the edge in the final. He definitely is in cracking form right now, and i fully expect him to win WTF.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Roger is still going to make it 5-0 this year at WTF, hopefully ;)
 

Julian Houston

Semi-Pro
Early days not friend, Federer did disrespect him until he wins so much on H2H, then Federer turned humble and rework his game, seeing Rafa as an equal.

Now its working well. Life lessons anyone?
 
Top