When Rafael Nadal burst onto the scene wearing sleeveless and hassling on the court for every point like his life depended on it, Roger Federer’s first and greatest rival had arrived. Their early days didn’t suggest so, but as they wound their careers down as two of the greatest to ever play the sport, they also became close friends.
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On that note, it was interesting to hear Jannik Sinner’s thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz, and whether they can truly be good friends off the court. Sinner and Alcaraz have already established themselves as the defining rivals of this generation and are set for more battles in the future. On Sunday, after Sinner beat Alcaraz to clinch the prestigious year-end crown, he spoke about his equation with the Spaniard.
“I feel like we had this conversation a bit with Darren,” Sinner was quoted as saying by ATP website. “He used to play back in the day. Players, they used to go dinner, having dinner together, because the teams were not as big. It was maybe player plus one. You tend to be a bit more together. You open yourself up. You tell stories in the locker room. I still feel it’s a bit like this. You have your more favourite not players but friends in the locker room. You talk a bit in different ways.”
“Of course, I believe that Carlos has great friends and I have great friends, too. You tend to go a bit more in the national team because it’s normal. You spend more time with Italians. “I do have also other players I feel very close to: Jack Draper, Reilly Opelka, these kind of friendships. I feel they’re honest and you can get along very well. But with Carlos is also a bit different because of on-court reasons. We have a very good relationship, rivalry. I feel like we can talk about everything still. I think it’s great. We are good friends off the court. We do respect us in a very healthy way. Also the teams, my team, get along very well with them. I think it’s a good harmony.”
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It is something each of the Big Four in Federer, Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray can attest to in varying degrees. Speaking in May this year to TNT, on the occasion of Nadal being honoured at Roland Garros, Federer had said this about the dynamics between the Big Four: “That’s nice to see that me, Novak, Andy and Rafa, we all get along really well. You can put us into a room together, and we are going to have a good time,” Federer said. “I think it also sends a nice message out to the world. But then when it is go time, it is strictly rivalry. We want to win. Sure, we’re going to do it fair and how it is supposed to be done. But it is important to also keep that element of big-time rivalry, ‘I want to really beat you’. But then I think after the match we can be very friendly again.”
Italy’s Jannik Sinner, left, and Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz hug after the final tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (AP Photo)
While Djokovic too was part of both Nadal and Federer’s farewell occasions – and even got emotional alongside his two great rivals during the Swiss great’s sendoff at Rod Laver Arena – he recently spoke about how it was different to him compared to the Fedal bromance.
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“Nadal is only a year older than me, we are both Geminis, at first we even went to dinner together, twice. But even with him, friendship is impossible,” he had told Corriere Della Sera. “I have always respected and greatly admired him. Thanks to him and Federer, I grew up and became who I am. This will unite us forever, therefore I feel gratitude towards them. Nadal is a part of my life, in the last 15 years, I’ve seen more of him than my mum. We have never been friends. Between rivals, it is not possible, but we have never been enemies. I’ve always had respect for Federer, he was one of the greatest of all time. He had an extraordinary impact, but I’ve never been close to him.”
