"People were ready to hate him": Andrea Petkovic recalls the adversities Rafael Nadal faced in his rivalry with Roger Federer

Andrea Petkovic paid a heartfelt tribute to Rafael Nadal during the week of his retirement from professional tennis. In her personal blog, the former German player shared an inspiring reflection on Nadal’s journey and remembered the early days of his rivalry with Roger Federer, a period when the Spaniard had to win over the audience.

At the time of Nadal’s rise to the top tier of tennis, Federer was the undisputed king of the Tour and a crowd favourite. Since claiming the World No. 1 spot in 2004, the Swiss held the top position for 237 consecutive weeks until August 2008, when Nadal finally overtook him after years of rivalry.

Petkovic on how Nadal won hearts on and off the court

With Federer’s retirement two years ago, it was only a matter of time before Nadal followed suit. At 38 years old, the Spaniard is stepping aside after winning 92 ATP titles, including 22 Grand Slam titles, Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles, a Davis Cup title, and spending over 200 weeks as World No. 1. His last two seasons were tough, with limited time on the court, and his journey concluded this week in Málaga.

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“Rafael Nadal has bid farewell. Finally, some would say, but I would venture to argue he did it in the only way he knew how,” Andrea Petkovic wrote on her blog. “Fighting until the very last moment, until the last drop of sweat was shed, tears and blood accepted as part of the journey, until his body screamed at the top of its lungs: ENOUGH. Enough already, leave me be. Find peace, let go. Let THE F*** go.”

The former World No. 9 pointed out that the more challenging aspects of Nadal’s rise are often forgotten. “Nowadays, people forget how much adversity Rafa faced from audiences. People loved Roger and could not fathom a challenger as dangerous as this boy from Manacor whose whipped forehand opened the tennis court in ways thought geometrically impossible. Rafael Nadal stuck with it. He did his thing, kept winning, kept beating Roger, kept beating him with grace and humility in his heart.”

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“And slowly, they began to like him. Increasingly, they warmed to him. In the end: they loved him. Passionately. For his decency and his broken English, for the random music video where he makes out with Shakira, and his humour that started to shine through once his English improved,” Petkovic added. “Most of all, they loved him for his fighting spirit on court. First, he won titles; then he won the hearts of the people that were so ready to hate him.”

The German also highlighted that Nadal was always aware that he could lose to any opponent at any moment, a fear that fueled his competitive spirit. “His biggest strength had always been that he was scared. Before every match, even in the 14th year of him winning the French Open, he deeply and profoundly believed that he would lose in the first round to a qualifier. It made him run faster, work harder, try more. It’s where the intensity we learned to love stems from.”