Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have named some of the sporting icons they watched growing up and took inspiration from in the early stages of their careers.
The duo had a consensus on a Pete Sampras as a legendary inspiration while Nadal mentioned a footballing legend, Federer identified two basketball icons.
The rivals of the past joined forces for the Core Values ad campaign by French luxury house Louis Vuitton in a video titled: “There are Journeys that turn into Legends”. The pair sat together and in a candid q/a session covered a range of topics with the video filmed in Italy’s Dolomites mountain range.
Federer and Nadal who crossed each other’s path 40 times over a 15-year period from 2004 to 2019 established one of tennis’ greatest rivalries. Nadal finished with a 24-16 advantage, having previously held 23-10 and 6-1 leads while Federer converted victories in the 6 of their last seven face offs.
The Spaniard has clinched 22 major titles with his last title coming at 2022 French Open while Federer who called time on his decorated career in 2022 won his 20th and final GS title at 2018 Australian Open. The two legends teamed up in Swiss maestro’s last match at the 2022 Laver Cup in London.
Nadal, a big Real Madrid fan and supporter expressed his admiration for legendary Brazilian striker Ronaldo Nazario while he also made a mention of the impact of his , friend coach and fellow Mallorcan Carlos Moya – a former ATP #1.
“I am a big fan of sport in general,” Nadal said. “First of all, sport by itself is an inspiration for me. I love football, so for me, when I was a kid, Ronaldo Nazario was a huge inspiration. And then I had the chance to spend some time with him.
“But as a tennis player, for me, Sampras was a good inspiration. But Carlos Moya, that is my coach today, he was right next to me and yeah, I think in some ways he helped me a lot when I arrived on the tour.”
Federer on his turn named NBA greats Michael Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal as well as tennis legend Stefan Edberg — one of his former coaches – as the player that played an inspirational role in his journey as a sports star.
“I mean, I loved basketball growing up as well,” Federer said. “So, clearly, Michael Jordan and then also actually Shaquille O’Neal, I looked up to. I thought that’s just the funnest, coolest sport out there.
“I mean, obviously tennis players, with Stefan Edberg and then also Pete Sampras, special people in my life. Stefan Edberg also coached me for two years. So that was obviously super duper special.”