In tennis, there are two types of players! One wins matches effortlessly with his extraordinary skills and the other wins matches and entertains the crowd all at the same time with their grunts and unorthodox playing style. Swiss tennis legend, Roger Federer falls into the first category. He has always been very comfortable playing his shots, Federer’s playing style was a kind of free-flowing tennis with a touch of elegance. It looked quite different from the rest of the players, like Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal.

So he was often labeled as “soft“, “laziest” and some critics even claimed that Roger Federer would win more matches if he played with greater intensity. People used to taunt him when he used to play against Novak Djokovic because both players approached the game quite differently. Several experts have often spoken about this thing earlier and they believe expression and emotion through a player’s shot or celebration is interesting. But it’s not the barometer of the work and sweat that went into each point to win the match.

However, American tennis legend, John McEnroe often toasted the playing style of Roger Federer calling it “A Baryshnikov of the tennis court.” After hearing all the allegations of his lack of effort during a match, Federer wondered, “Why wouldn’t I fight more when losing?”

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have met 50 times in their career, and every time they met it was a different kind of drama overall! In his documentary, FEDERER: Twelve Final Days, Federer was heard saying, “Did I have to grunt more, shout, sweat? I tried, but it was all an act. That wasn’t my personality.” He wasn’t happy with how people used to look at his game which lacked a fair bit of animation but sheer class!

Some experts say tennis players grunt to put off their opponents while others believe it’s simply a release of energy while playing high-intensity games. However, on that note, Martina Navratilova has previously claimed that grunting is a kind of cheating. In fact, she cited Federer to be a perfect example of a good player who doesn’t grunt. Did you know Roger Federer once complained of Rafael Nadal’s grunting during a match at the Australian Open?

“I am sorry” – Rafael Nadal’s reaction to Roger Federer’s complaint at the 2014 Australian Open

The 2014 Australian Open saw an epic battle between the two greats of the game in the semifinals. Although Rafael Nadal won that match comfortably by 7-6(4),6-3,6-3, it was Roger Federer’s complaint about Rafa’s grunt to the umpire that took away all the limelight. In the post-match press conference, Federer elaborated on his grievance highlighting the inconsistency in Nadal’s grunting. After hearing his complaint, the Spaniard came up with a reply after the match stating he never tried to disturb his opponent deliberately.

Rafael Nadal said, “I never do nothing on court to bother the opponent.” He stressed the fact that he only tries to focus on hitting the ball well whenever he’s on the court. “I am sorry if I bothered somebody, but I never did in the past. So is something that nobody in my career, you know, told me nothing about this, that I am bothering the opponent,” Rafael Nadal said in the post-match press conference. What are your thoughts on two different approaches to the same game?