'Federer-Nadal rivalry greatest across sports', says Indian legend

The history of sport thrives on companies and many of them can only be understood through statistics. Roger Federer's legend is impossible to describe with data alone, but some deserve consideration, especially when you can understand that his dominance, in terms of records, is increasingly at risk. It goes without saying that the change in the ATP ranking scoring system due to the global coronavirus pandemic has allowed Roger to remain among the top spots despite not having played since March. Looking at the historical statistics, it is striking to see how, in the event that Roger Federer loses two positions in the current ranking, he would lose his leadership in the ranking of the seasons ended in the top 5, and would be joined by Rafael Nadal. The Swiss did it in 15 years, while the Majorcan in 14, but the latter will add another one at the end of 2020. Both Sania Mirza and PV Sindhu spoke about this epic rivalry in the documentary 'Strokes of Genius', which is currently streaming on Discovery Plus. 

Sindhu on the rivalry between Federer and Nadal

"I believe both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are legends in their own way and definitely love to see both of them play. I can’t just choose one from both but I think each of them has a different style of play and different game so I would say, both are legends," PV Sindhu said. "I think it’s the greatest rivalry not only in tennis but also globally because they are true champions and they have always inspired us in many ways and I would say it is always a treat for us to watch them play." The Olympic silver medalist also recalled how she closely looked at Nadal's win over the then No. 1 Federer in the Miami Masters 2004. "I was really young then in 2004 in Miami when Nadal won against the then no 1 Federer. When I saw that it inspired me a lot in 2004 when Nadal won against the then world no 1. So, the closest of that for me would be when I won against the Olympic champion Li Xuerui in China Masters in 2012. So yeah, that was the closest for me," she said. Sania Mirza pointed out how both Federer and Nadal have mutual understanding on and off the court. "On the courts, of course, everybody knows that they’ve had some incredible matches and have some incredible history, but I think off the court are the moments that make them very special. The respect they have for each other and when they play, you can see that there is so much respect and mutual admiration for each other as well. They bring so much to the game and such different things that our sport really needs both of them," Sania Mirza said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/38dInHP