Nadal and Federer in 2011
Rafael Nadal of Spain (L) shakes hands with Roger Federer of Switzerland after winning their men's final at the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris June 5, 2011. Reuters/Regis Duvignau

The nominees for the annual ATP World Tour Awards are out and on-court rivals and former World No. 1 players Rafael Nadal of Spain and Rodger Federer of Switzerland are among the list of contenders for the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award.

The award, which is given to the player who “conducted himself at the highest level of professionalism and integrity, who competed with his fellow players with the utmost spirit of fairness and who promoted the game through his off-court activities,” as described by the ATP tour's official website, also have Kevin Anderson of South Africa and David Ferrer of Spain as nominees.

Aside from being part of the elite group of the men’s singles completion the past years, both Nadal and Federer are the most popular players in this current era of tennis.

Federer, who won the same award last year and looking for his 11th Edberg award in his career, is ranked No. 3 in the world and has been consistent in the ATP tour this season. The same can’t be said of Nadal, who has dropped to No. 7 as he continued to struggle for the entire year dropping to his lowest world ranking in recent years.

However, both veterans are looked up to by their peers and fans and both remains as class acts, on and off the court. Among the veterans in the tour, Nadal and Federer are two of the top guys that are idolised by other younger players not only for their on-court success but their attitude off the court.

In a recent interview, Nadal stated that athletes have the responsibility to be role models for the younger generation.

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