"Rafael Nadal kept beating Roger Federer with grace”: Andrea Petkovic on how Spaniard never backed down despite facing 'adversity' from Swiss’ fans
Roger Federer was not only the dominant force on Tour when Rafael Nadal burst onto the scene, but also the fan favorite. It was then understandable that the Spaniard was met with a certain resistance from the audiences early in his career.
By threatening Federer’s position as the undisputed leader of the pack, Nadal was drawing a lot of attention and as Andrea Petkovic recalled in one of her recent blog posts, it wasn’t always positive.
Petkovic, a former top-10 player herself, recalled Nadal being met with “adversity” from fans during his early years. She reasoned that the reaction from fans was natural given that many of them were Federer loyalists and could not fathom the idea of there being a challenger, espcially one as "dangerous" as the young Spaniard.
"Nowadays, people forget how much adversity Rafa faced from audiences," Andrea Petkovic wrote. "People loved [Roger Federer] and could not fathom a challenger as dangerous as this boy from Manacor whose whipped forehand opened the tennis court in ways thought geometrically impossible."
The German gave credit to Nadal for “sticking with it” and being himself on court, lauding qualities like “grace and humility” that he brought to the court.
"Rafael Nadal stuck with it. He did his thing, kept winning, kept beating [Roger Federer], kept beating him with grace and humility in his heart," Petkovic wrote.
"Slowly, they began to like him" - Andrea Petkovic on fans warming up to Rafael Nadal
Andrea Petkovic, however, also took note of how fans eventually warmed up to Rafael Nadal, crediting it to his very likeable personality.
The German said that Nadal’s sense of humor began to shine through as his English improved, something that she believed helped the Spaniard connect with fans a lot more. She added that Nadal’s “fighting spirit” made sure that he won over fans both on and off the court.
"And slowly, they began to like him, increasingly they warmed to him, in the end: they loved him," Andrea Petkovic wrote. "Passionately. For his decency and his broken English, for the random music video where he makes out with Shakira and his humor that started to shine through once his English improved."
"Most of all, they loved him for his fighting spirit on court. First, he won titles; then he won the hearts of the people that were so ready to hate him," he added.
Nadal recently played the last professional match of his career at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, losing against the Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp. Spain eventually lost the tie 1-2.