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KEY BISCAYNE, FL – MARCH 25: Rafael Nadal attends the Miami Open – Celebrity Sightings at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 25, 2016 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)
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KEY BISCAYNE, FL – MARCH 25: Rafael Nadal attends the Miami Open – Celebrity Sightings at Crandon Park Tennis Center on March 25, 2016 in Key Biscayne, Florida. (Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images)
Tennis great Rafael Nadal needs no introduction to the sport. He has been known as one of the truest fighters the sport has ever seen. It is this attitude of his that has made him such a successful athlete over time. During his career, the Spaniard has shared many great rivalries.
Recently, Rafael Nadal spoke about his friends on Tour. He took the names of Swiss tennis superstar Roger Federer and defending US Open champion Dominic Thiem. The 34-year-old player mentioned, “I have a good relationship with Thiem, Federer, and all the Spaniards. At the start of my career, there was no Internet so we would spend more time together.”
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PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 07: Rafael Nadal of Spain and Roger Federer of Switzerland embrace at the net after their mens singles semi-final match during Day thirteen of the 2019 French Open at Roland Garros on June 07, 2019 in Paris, France. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer share one of the greatest rivalries in sports
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Rafa has shared one of the greatest sporting rivalries with Roger Federer. During their careers, they have entertained fans from all over the world with scintillating tennis on countless occasions. Whenever they step onto the court, fans are aware that the next few hours are going to be noteworthy.
Nadal: "I have a good relationship with Thiem, Federer and all the Spaniards. At the start of my career there was no Internet so we would spend more time together."
— Luigi Gatto (@gigicat7_) April 29, 2021
On the other hand, Rafa and Thiem share a unique rivalry. Although they haven’t played all that much tennis with each other, they have still created a different aura around their matches. Initially, the Spaniard beat the Austrian player with not much difficulty. However, in recent years, Dominic Thiem has managed to beat Nadal at the Grand Slams.
Reflecting on the current season, Rafa played his first competitive match at the Australian Open. He lost in the quarterfinal to Greek tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas. After that, he was seen in Monte Carlo but exited in the quarterfinal at the hands of Russian talent Andrey Rublev. Later, he won his 12th title in Barcelona last week.
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Rafael Nadal (R) of Spain and Dominic Thiem (L) of Austria pose prior the men’s singles final match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris, France on June 09, 2019. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Dominic Thiem has not got off to a good start in 2021
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The Austrian ace has not had the best of starts to the season. After losing early in Australia and registering poor results in Dubai and Doha, he decided to take a break to regroup himself. Since then, he has not featured in any event but is expected to return for the Rome Masters.
Meanwhile, Federer was out for almost a year. He returned to Tour at the Doha Open 2021 but made an early exit. Since then, he has been practicing to return to full flow. He is expected to play at the Geneva Open 2021.
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