Roger Federer Owes Rafael Nadal, Says John McEnroe

Published 06/14/2019, 5:29 PM EDT

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Roger Federer’s presence at Roland-Garros 2019, raised up the level of enthusiasm in the tournament for the entire two-weeks, not just his matches, even his practice sessions were thronged with people. The 39th meeting of ‘Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal’ took at French Open 2019 and according to John McEnroe its probably the last time the duo is meeting on a major court. 

The 20-time Grand Slam champion, Roger Federer’s defeat on Court Philippe-Chatrier was accompanied by a standing ovation from the crowd when he departed. “If Federer’s so universally loved around the world, he owes it mainly to Rafael Nadal,” McEnroe told Eurosport in a Commissioner of Tennis segment.

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World Number three, Roger Federer is considered to be the global ambassador of the sport and he receives love from all over the world. The Swiss legend collecting back to back ATP titles and his widespread adoration are perhaps due to the fighting spirits of Rafael Nadal.  

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The Swiss, Roger Federer was insane on tennis courts during the initial years of his career, he defeated the legends Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi during their peak time and until Australian Open 2006, Roger Federer did not lose any match at major finals. However, the advent of the Spaniard maniac, Rafael Nadal elevated the zeal in tennis as he was the one who brought down the supernatural tendencies of Roger Federer.

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“He was on a path of utter domination before Nadal showed up. When he started losing to Rafa, it made him more human,” McEnroe continued. Roger Federer lost his first ever major final during the Roland-Garros 2006 to Rafa.

Also, the year before the Swiss, Roger Federer lost to aggressive lefty, Nadal in their premier major meeting in the semifinals of French Open 2005 and aided Rafa to lift his first La Coupe des Mousquetaires. And 14 years later, the results on the Parisian clay remain the same.

Roger Federer fans were anticipating the semifinal match of the Paris major might turn the tables. However, the Swiss again allowed his longtime foe to lift the major title on Parisian terre-battue, but this time it was the twelfth one. “The miracle didn’t happen. Roger let Rafa continue his quest for a 12th French Open title but that wasn’t the real story”, McEnroe added.

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Over the past fifteen years, the tennis world roots either for Federer or for Nadal, and both the men refuse to set aside their racquets and continue to be a hindrance to other men on tour as they just can’t come into the limelight.

Not just these two, the Serbian, Novak Djokovic also contributes immensely in making the tennis careers of numerous other ATP men Slam-less. Indeed, their dominance is a catch 22 situation for the other young men on tour, which hampers them from showing up.

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“The real story is how these players are still playing at this level, at their age and after so many years. What if we add (Novak)Djokovic into the mix? How can they still keep their edge? How can they still be hungry? There’s this fantasy about the NextGen but all we see right now is the Old Gen. They buried the PresentGen and they seem to be doing the same with the NextGen,” McEnroe said.

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In the Open Era, all three of them are on the pinnacle on their respective terrains in terms of the Grand Slam count. And Federer holds the maximum number of titles on the Wimbledon’s turf and also on the US Open courts.

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No such trio could amass the mammoth number of Slams which the ‘Big Three’ could pile up over the years and according to the tennis experts, this game of tennis would never witness the same kind of show for the years to come.

Besides, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic there are just two Career Slam champions (Rod Laver and Andre Agassi) in the tennis history and despite the trilogy being on the greater side of number thirty, they still continue to soar their Grand Slam tally.   

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Mahalakshmi Murali

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Mahalakshmi Murali joined EssentiallySports in 2018 as a tennis author and has gone on to pen more than 1800 engaging articles, probing into various aspects of the sport and its illustrious players. With her expertise on the sport, Mahalakshmi has interviewed stalwarts from the sport such as Serena WIlliams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou and Kevin Anderson’s physio, Carlos Costa. Equipped with her vast experience and a keen understanding of the sport, Mahalakshmi now co-heads the tennis department.
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