Rafael Nadal On Roger Federer: ‘He’s A Good Person, A Fantastic Player And A Great Man On Court’

Rafael Nadal has nothing but kind words to say about one of his best rivals Roger Federer. Nadal is currently in Switzerland, competing at the 2014 Swiss Indoors Basel. It is Nadal's third appearance in the tournament staged at Federer's native land.

In an interview with Swiss magazine, Blick, Nadal talked about his rivalry with Federer. According to the 28-year-old Manacor native, his rivalry with Federer has "always been positive" because neither one of them has said any negative things about each other. He said that he and Federer have mutual respect toward each other and he hopes that they lead by example and that other young tennis athletes can learn from them. He added that the rivalry between him and Federer is something that he is really proud of.

"He's a good person, a fantastic player, and a great man on the court," Nadal said. "I have always spoken well about him to the media during my career, and he did the same with me."

On the topic of playing at Federer's home turf, Nadal said he couldn't be happier that the Swiss respects him even though he is a known rival of their local favourite. He said his fellow Spaniards do the same thing when Federer competes in Madrid. "He feels the love of Spanish fans."

The rivalry between Nadal and Federer on ATP World Tour began in March 2004, when the two battle it out at the ATP Masters Series in Miami. They played against each other for the 33^rd time at the semifinals of the 2014 Australian Open.

Nadal and Federer are both through to the quarterfinals of the ongoing 2014 Swiss Indoors Basel, and they could meet each other in the epic final, if they further advance in the tournament. They had met in the major and minor tournaments' finals for 20 times, and Nadal holds 14-6 edge. The last time that Federer had won against Nadal in the finale of a major tournament was in the 2007 Wimbledon.

Nadal will play against 17-year-old Borna Coric of Croatia on Oct. 25. Federer will face Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals on the same day.