"Nadal and Roger, they have played so many great matches in the following years, for me this is the best rivalry." - Thiem, Wawrinka & others reveal their favorite ATP rivalry
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ATP, several players from around the world picked Nadal-Roger as their favorite ATP rivalry while growing up. Wawrinka, Thiem, Holger Rune, Audrey Rublev, and others are featured in the video published by ATP tour Espanol.
Con motivo del 50 aniversario de la ATP, los jugadores confiesan cuál es para ellos la rivalidad más icónica en estos años.
¿Cuál es la tuya? #ATP50 https://t.co/UuHPZnEA42
While the majority of the players chose the “Fedal” rivalry, very few reminisced about some of the old-time classics.
Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam winner, grew up watching Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, and despite that, the Swiss chose his contemporary Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as his favorite rivalry.
“For me, it was before arriving on the tour, it was Sampras and Agassi, and then Roger Rafa. I think it is so special, like a completely different style of game, a completely different personality and for an amazing champion, "said the veteran.
Thiem, the 2020 US Open winner, spoke about how difficult it was even with all of the rivalries he had heard about, but he eventually also chose the Federer - Nadal rivalry, the first rivalry he saw on TV.
“So the most iconic rivalry on the ATP tour is difficult to say from what I have heard of. Sampras-Agassi was great and, of course, also McEnroe-Borg must have been unreal, but I grew up watching obviously Roger and Rafa.
That was the first rivalry I could also watch on TV and was growing up with, so I chose this one. This one was also the first match I was looking live on TV, and in the following years, they played so many great matches, so for me, this is the best rivalry, ” said Thiem.
Russian Audrey Rublev picked his favorite 'Rafa and Roger' moment, the 2008 Wimbledon final. He elaborated, saying that there is more on his list, but the Wimbledon title is forever etched in his memory.
My favorite tennis rivalry is Rafa and Roger Wimbledon finals, I mean there are many you can't...there are so many many matches unreal but the first thing that came to my mind is Rafa-Roger Wimbledon final maybe 2008."
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who beat Novak Djokovic earlier in April, chose the rivalry between Federer and Nadal, adding that no match between them could be a bad one.
"Well, for sure, I enjoyed it the most, Roger-Rafa, Djoko-Rafa, Federer-Djoko. I think the big 3 i enjoyed the most. You know, it’s going to be a great match. Even if they play badly, it is going to be a wonderful match. Then it is like entertaining."
"Federer vs Nadal has been incredibly interesting."- Holger Rune on his favorite ATP rivalry
Teenager Holger Rune was the youngest to feature in the video and was in awe of their rivalry. He also mentioned the rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Nadal, but when it came to his childhood, the Fedal rivalry was the one he looked up to.
“I think personally that Federer vs Nadal has been incredibly interesting. I watched so many matches of them and yeah, I would say the same for Federer - Novak and Rafa-Novak but while growing up Federer-Nadal really stands out for me. "
The Dane is yet to play any of his idols, although he came closest to playing Nadal at this year's Roland Garros. The 19-year-old lost to Casper Ruud, and the latter went on to play in the titular clash with the King of Clay himself.
Ranked No. 28 in the ATP rankings, Rune has been going through a bit of a rough patch. He crashed out of the Croatia Open after losing out to Spanish Zapata Miralles in the round of 16.
His next venture is at the Citi Open, where he will lock horns with France's Benoit Paire in the round-of-32.