Federer: “What most surprised me when I met Rafa Nadal was...”

And Federer admitted recently, during an interview with German newspaper Zeit, that both of them had to work long and hard when they played each other.

“We've long had a great deal of rivalry between us, and sometimes it hasn't been easy,” Federer, 38, revealed.

“Although we've had some huge duels, we both respect each other. We know that we're both sporting icons for lots of people, and that we're major representatives of our sport.”

But he stressed the pair have an 'excellent relationship' on and off the court, and outside of matches, they are close friends.

“Our two families get on really well with each other and both sets will congratulate whichever one of us wins,” the current ATP world number three told reporters.

However, there was one feature of Rafa Nadal which 'really surprised' Federer when they first got to know each other.

“Even though when he competes, he's really, really aggressive, something stunned me about him when I got to know him well.

“He's really shy. Outside the court, Rafael's incredibly timid,” Federer revealed.

The above photograph, taken by the organisers of the Roland Garros stadium tournament – BNP Paribas Open – shows Nadal congratulating Federer on his amazing play after their match together.

Rafa has so far won the French Open 12 times, and it probably would have been a lucky 13^th this year if the tennis circuit had not been forced to grind to a halt due to the Covid-19 pandemic.