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Federer plays down talk of rivalry with Nadal
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-03-11 14:16
INDIAN WELLS, March 10 (Reuters) - World number one Roger Federer said it was
too early to tell whether he and Rafael Nadal will establish a major rivalry.
Spanish teenager Nadal broke Federer's 56-match hard court winning streak
with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in Dubai last Sunday and boasts a 3-1 record
against the Swiss
But Federer said the competition was too fierce to develop a rivalry in the
fashion of Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras.
"I've played him only four times and obviously we are number one and number
two, but we'll have to see how it progresses," said Federer, the top seed at
this week's Pacific Life Open.
"There are more players than just Nadal. The other players will play well
here too at Indian Wells.
"I don't think we can call it a rivalry yet. There's just to many great
players around."
But eight-times grand slam champion Agassi think the pairing has the makings
of a classic and said that the left-handed Nadal, who is seeded second at Indian
Wells, has the game to challenge Federer.
"I think it would be impossible for anybody to dominate in the past two years
the way Roger did," Agassi said.
"It's great to see that the one person that closes to him in the rankings is
his most difficult matchup. Nadal can hit that one shot that everybody wishes
they can hit against Roger and that's getting the ball up to his backhand side.
"It's isn't brain surgery. Nobody likes it up there. That's the only area
that Roger doesn't hurt you with. So it's great to see a matchup that lends for
a rivalry for a long time to come."
Swiss Federer believes the more he plays the Spaniard, the more success he'll
have against him.
"He's a big guy," Federer said. "He moves very well for his height and he's
got strong legs. He gets back many balls and he's got a great forehand, great
spin.
"He reads the dimension of the court very well. He's got a good all round
game. We don't have to many of those, but I enjoy playing him. I'm at the top of
my game so, when I win or lose, I don't freak out."
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