The Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal ‘bromance’ has gone to the next level. Seeing the fact that many tennis fans love to watch the two legends bond with each other off the court, Louis Vuitton has been able to pull off something extraordinary. In a recent interview, Nadal talked about the first time he met Federer and one of his jokes left the Swiss legend in splits.
Twitter user Dani shared a clip of the Louis Vuitton interview. Nadal and Federer are wearing two thick coats and sitting in what appears to be a snowfall.
Interviewer: “Do you remember the first time you met each other?”
Nadal: “I do reember. Probably not him.”
Federer: “I don’t.” (Laughs)
Nadal: “When you won your first Wimbledon.”
Federer: “Cool.”
Nadal: “Which year was it?”
Federer: “It was 2003. And was I nice to you? Or…”
Nadal: “You were little bit arrogant.”
(Both laugh again)
Nadal: “No come on. No, honestly, you were super nice. I was just arriving on the tour and a junior. So, I was super shy to talk to you. But you were very nice.”
After joking about Federer being a little arrogant to him, Nadal said that he was very nice actually. This actually debunks a long-standing myth about Federer that he was extremely egoistic in his earlier years.
There were some notable instances of him being super-aggressive on the court, once even complaining to the chair umpire about Novak Djokovic. But more or less, he has been gracious and extremely approachable, making him one of the most loved players during his time in the locker room.
When it comes to tennis fans, Roger Federer has been a marketer’s delight for all the qualities within him that make him the brand ambassador of the sport. It helped that in later years, Federer became relatable to many while retaining his superstardom, which is a rare thing to master indeed.
How Roger Federer became more relatable in the latter half of his career
Around two months ago, Roger Federer interviewed with GQ and he talked about his post-retirement life. The interviewer Zach Baron finally asked him about being vulnerable when he wasn’t the best player in the world. Here is how that conversation went:
Zach Baron: “Can I confess something? You and I are about the same age, and I’m a tennis fan, and I always watched you play, but I think I rooted for you more in the back half of your career, when the humanity, and the possibility of you losing, was more evident. Does that make sense?”
Roger Federer: “Total sense. I was not really aware of it I guess until 2008. Or maybe there was a moment when, I think in ’05 when I lost to [Marat] Safin at the Australian Open, I said, “I’ve created a monster.” When I lose a set, people are like, “Oh, my god, Roger lost a set.” Or I’m losing in a semis with match point against Safin. People are like in shock. Can you believe it? I’m like, what do you mean, shock? Can you believe it? It’s normal to lose against an unbelievable player.”
Roger Federer gave a confessional peek into what he was like whenever he lost his temper in his younger days. However, his experiences with fans and people finally brought about a good change in him.
After he lost to Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Wimbledon final, Federer realized that it was perfectly normal to lose to someone as extraordinary as Nadal. He felt that there was no need to get frustrated every time, even though his fans would be in shock since he was invincible from 2003-2007.
Today, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are known to everyone as two of the most humble, respectful, and loving personalities in the tennis world. Fans would be hoping that there would be more Federer-Nadal reunions to see like the Louis Vuitton one in the future.
