‘I Did Not Want Him to Win’- Rafael Nadal Explains the Emotions He Felt When Roger Federer Won the French Open in 2009

Swiss tennis maestro Roger Federer bid farewell to his illustrious career recently. Earlier, the 41-year-old declared the Laver Cup to be his last tournament. Federer’s friend and top rival Rafael Nadal flew to London to play one last tournament alongside his mate.

The duo partnered for doubles and lost their first-round match bringing an end to the Illustrious career of Roger Federer. Later, we saw both Federer and Nadal in tears. While the world is lauding Nadal for his innocent and kind heart, Nadal revealed it was not the first time Federer made him cry.

Not the first time Rafael Nadal cried for Federer

Nadal recalled the time Federer was playing in the 2009 French Open final. Interestingly, the tournament that the Spaniard has absolutely championed over the years was the hardest for the Swiss maestro. A win for Federer would have meant a career Grand Slam for the 20-time Grand Slam champion. However, Nadal revealed he was hoping for him to lose. As a win in the final, would see Federer claim the world number 1 spot which Nadal was eying.

However, when Nadal watched the final, it made him cry. Here’s what the legend recalled. “When Roger won the 2009 French Open, I cried with emotion. Although I did not want him to win because I had chances to become the world No. 1, he deserved it after getting so close to the title in the past four years.”

Read more: ‘She Makes Him Smile’ – Fans React as Rafael Nadal and Mirka Share a Heartfelt Hug While Roger Federer Departs From Tennis

Eventually, it turned out to be the only time Federer won the clay court Grand Slam tournament.

Federer vs Nadal – Rivalry over the years

Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal are the three modern-day greats, commonly referred to as the big three. If we talk about their achievements, Federer has the third highest number of Grand Slam titles (20). While Djokovic sits second on the list with 21 titles. Rafael Nadal leads the chart with 22 majors.

Speaking of the head-to-head record of Federer and Nadal, the duo clashed 40 times. Out of this, Federer won 16 matches while Nadal won 24. On clay Nadal has absolutely dominated Federer with a record of 14-2. While on grass Federer ended on top with a lead of 3-1. On the hard court, they had a more intense rivalry and Federer leads closely by 11-9.

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What is your favorite Federer-Nadal moment? Let us know in the comments.