Rafael Nadal: 'Roger Federer is trying to learn Spanish'

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal held the first two places in the ATP ranking continuously from July 2005 to August 2009 and are the only two men in tennis history to have finished 6 seasons in the first two places of the ranking. Federer was number 1 in the world for a record of 237 consecutive weeks between February 2004 and August 2008.

Nadal, five years younger, conquered the number 2 position in the ranking in July 2005, keeping it uninterrupted for 160 weeks before being able to unseat the rival from the top and conquer the throne in August 2008. On July 6, 2009 Federer regained the top position in the world ranking, and then relegated it to Nadal on June 6, 2010. The two tennis players met 40 times; Nadal leads head to head for 24-16.

Their 2008 Wimbledon final was lauded as the greatest match ever by many long-time tennis analysts. Their 2017 Australian Open final was one of the more highly anticipated major finals in tennis history, in part due to the relevance within popular discussions on their placement in greatest of all time listings, coupled with that fact that they were both already in their 30s, which is usually when most male players are on the decline or have already retired. Other matches considered particularly notable include the 2006 Italian Open final, 2007 Wimbledon final, and 2009 Australian Open final, with each match going to five sets.

In the Twitter post, a fan asked Rafael Nadal what would be easier for him to teach Roger Federer – the Spanish language, fishing, or cooking. “The easiest thing to teach him would probably be fishing. After speaking with him, I know that he likes to go fishing with his kids to the lake so he probably has some experience with this. Roger is trying to learn Spanish, he has tried speaking sometimes but I don’t know about cooking. He has never cooked for me before so I don’t know about his cooking abilities.” 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3eWFdZY