Lewis Hamilton Picks Roger Federer Over Rafael Nadal

Ace British Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton took, perhaps a fraction of a second longer than he does to take his race car past chequered flags when it came to making his choice between two of the all-time greats in men’s tennis. The Mercedes driver, who is currently tied with the legendary Michael Schumacher with the highest number of F1 Drivers’ Championship titles at 7, did catch a blink before picking Roger Federer over his Big 3 rival Rafael Nadal.

Lewis Hamilton chooses between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Asked to pick between the two stalwarts, who are currently tied for the most of Grand Slam titles in the men’s game with 20 apiece, Hamilton emphatically said, “Federer”.

Hamilton takes more than a passing interest in tennis and has often shared clips of him playing tennis with his father during breaks from racing action.

Tagging one such clip to Serena Williams last year, he sought help from the 23-time Grand Slam to keep his father at bay in tennis.

“Playing tennis with my dad as often as I can. I’m still undefeated yet, but he’s getting better. It’s only a matter of time before he beats me and then I’ll have to take lessons,” the champion racer wrote.

To his call for help, Serena responded, cheekily, “Don’t worry, I got you.”

Roger Federer set for a return on clay, Rafael Nadal recovers from slip-up to clinch 12th Barcelona title

Federer, who was away from tennis for 14 months to recover from a second knee surgery he had last year, returned to competition in Doha this year.

Amid soaring expectations of fans around his comeback event, the 39-year-old Swiss won his tournament opener against British No.1 Dan Evans but went down to Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in a closely-fought three-setter in his next.

He skipped some events, including the Miami Open, thereafter to focus on training for the grasscourt swing.

However, the champion has announced his return at the claycourt event in Geneva, which will serve as a tune-up for his much-anticipated return to Roland-Garros.

Nadal, meanwhile, recovered from a rare slip-up on clay at this year’s Monte-Carlo Masters to clinch a record 12th championship title in Barcelona.

Read More: Lewis Hamilton Seeking Tennis Lessons From Serena Williams For a Special Reason

The thrilling win in a nail-biter of a final against in-form World No.6 Stefanos Tsitsipas more than made up for the surprise loss against Russian Andrey Rublev.