“Who Would Have Thought he was Going to be World Number 1 Again:” Roger Federer Praises Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer hails his arch-rival Rafael Nadal for leaving the critics open-mouthed by reaching the top of the ATP rankings for the eighth time after becoming the World No.1 for the first time 11 years ago.

Rafael Nadal reclaimed the year-end No.1 spot for the fifth time in his career during the last week’s ATP World Tour Finals 2019 after Roger Federer knocked out the defending runner-up Novak Djokovic in the group stages and ending his hopes to finish the year at the top.

“He’s a good guy. He’s a great player,” Federer told the Argentine sports channel TYC Sports after his exhibition match in Buenos Aires.

He further added: “Who would have thought he was going to be world No 1 again this year after being No 1 for the first time 11 years ago? All the people were saying he is going to be injured, not make it, not going to be healthy at one point, his game is too brutal. But he found a way and he’s had another incredible season with two Grand Slam wins this year. He’s at 19 Grand Slams now.”

Roger Federer, who is currently on a tour of North and South America for a series of exhibition matches, talked about his relationship with Rafael Nadal. He said: “I really enjoyed sharing the court with him at Laver Cup twice.”

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal shared the court twice at the Laver Cup 2017 and 2019. The Swiss maestro revealed that he learned a lot from the Spaniard during the 3-day event. Roger Federer also claimed that Nadal will go down as the greatest player of all time.

“I learned a lot from him, he is a great champion, is great for the game and I’m happy we’ve had the matches and battles that we had, particularly at Wimbledon, French Open, even in Australia,” Federer added.

“We’ve had some massive matches and he’s going to go down as maybe the greatest players of all time, he’s that good of course,” Federer concluded.

After playing in Buenos Aires, Roger Federer and Alexander Zverev are set to play in Bogota, Colombia for a match on Friday. The pair will then travel to Mexico City, Mexico on Saturday before finishing the tour in Quito, Ecuador on Sunday.