Video - "I don't want to give the impression that I want to be his boyfriend": Nadal's iconic statement about Federer at the 2017 US Open
New York, 2017 US Open. In a press conference, Rafael Nadal triggers laughter from journalists present on site. A sequence that has become iconic.
"What do you admire most about Roger Federer?" a journalist asks him with curiosity. The audience expects a classic, polite, almost mechanical response. But Rafa, true to his disarming nature, hesitates, smiles... and then responds with this now-famous phrase:
"Hmm... I don't want to give the impression that I want to be his boyfriend."
Laughter erupts throughout the room. But behind this touch of humor, Nadal continues sincerely: "What do I admire about him? Everything. His talent, his elegance, his mentality. And above all, the way he makes things look so simple... when they are incredibly difficult."
Subsequently, although many hoped to finally see a Nadal-Federer final in New York, the only one missing from their shared legend, Federer unfortunately fell to Juan Martin del Potro in the quarterfinals. Now retired, the meeting between the two at the US Open will never have occurred.
