"Sit there, figure out what Roger Federer could do to make Rafael Nadal uncomfortable" - Swiss' ex-coach shares inside details of rivalry

Roger Federer's ex-coach, Paul Annacone, opened up about coaching against Rafael Nadal a few days after the Spaniard's retirement. His final match was on November 19 at the Davis Cup Finals.

Annacone coached Federer from 2010-2013, and in these three years, he witnessed one of the greatest on-court rivalries. He appeared in the Tennis Channel's Inside-IN podcast hosted by Mitch Michals on November 21, 2024, and spoke about his experience of coaching against Nadal.

He said that it was an amazing experience for him to coach Roger against the Spaniard and revealed that both the players loved challenging each other. Calling Rafael Nadal the best competitor, Annacone gave insights into the rivalry of the duo.

"I actually loved it. Look, I love challenges, and I don't have to be them, so I love being able to try to participate and help and contribute value no matter who I am coaching," said Annacone. "But when you see to me arguably the best competitor of all time in any sport, I think, and you have to figure out how to conquer that.."

Opening up about the planning strategies against the 38-year-old.

"...There's no bigger challenge, and for me, luckily I also got to play with Roger, arguably one of the most gifted athletes that has ever held tennis racquets, so what a great contrast between the two, and it was always fun to try to sit there and problem solve and figure out what Roger could do to make him uncomfortable."

He further added:

"Roger said all the great things in the tweet that he said goodbye to him and about how much he made him better and actually and about how much more he made him enjoy tennis because of the challenge, and I think that's what great athletes like. It's been such an amazing twenty years of excellence with these guys."

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Roger Federer pens a heartfelt note on Rafael Nadal's retirement

Rafael Nadal announced his retirement on October 10, 2024, declaring that the Davis Cup Finals would be the final tournament of his career. Just ahead of his final match at the Davis Cup, Roger Federer shared a heartfelt message for the Spaniard, highlighting his stellar career and their epic rivalry.

The Swiss admitted that Rafael challenged him in ways no one did, and that's what made him work harder. Along with this, he also praised the player's entire superstitious routine before playing any match.

"Vamos, Rafa! As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I’ve got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional. Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me—a lot. More than I managed to beat you."

"You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground. You made me reimagine my game—even going so far as to change the size of my racquet head, hoping for any edge.

Here is the entire message:

Rafael Nadal lost his final match to Botic Van de Zandschulp with a score of 6-4, 6-4.