Federer and Nadal’s rivalry continues to boom with the duo set to fight it out for the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles this year.
Federer got his year off to the perfect start by scooping the Australian Open, defending it to make it 20 Grand Slam wins throughout his incredible career.
Many have been queuing up to hail the 36-year-old who continues to survive wave after wave of new talent to sit close to the top of the world rankings.
And Nadal has hit out at those jumping on the Roger Federer bandwagon, saying the Swiss star is only just beginning to get the recognition he deserves.
“It’s admirable now as much as before, we do not figure now what he is and what he did,” Nadal said.
“I admire him a lot. We have a good relationship, we fight for important things, but you shouldn’t forget that this is a sport and the moments we lived together made us appreciate each other.”
Tennis is somewhat in transition despite Federer and Nadal continuing to break records.
The likes of Alexander Zverev, Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov are all coming through the ranks.
And, contrastingly, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are beginning to struggle with problems of their own.
And Nadal thinks tennis’ next generation has a bright future.
“There was a generation able to win a lot, Federer, me, (Novak) Djokovic, (Andy) Murray, (Stan) Wawrinka,” the 31-year-old added.
“If we look at our sport’s history, it had never happened that three players would win much for a lot of years.
“Zverev, Kyrgios and Shapovalov are very strong and they will definitely win several Slams.
“It will depend on how much they are willing to improve and breakthrough. Their potential and talent is big.”
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