Roger Federer’s former coach explains what he ‘loved’ about playing Rafael Nadal following his retirement

Follow us on Google Discover

Rafael Nadal retired from tennis at the 2024 Davis Cup, having won 22 Grand Slam titles during his career on the ATP Tour.

The Spaniard’s career came to a close after 23 years, following Spain’s exit from the Davis Cup Finals at the hands of the Netherlands.

Nadal lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in his last match as a professional, before Carlos Alcaraz leveled the tie up at 1-1.

Spain lost the deciding doubles match and with it saw the end of Nadal’s time as a tennis player.

Fans and ATP players have sent tributes to the Spaniard over the past week, whilst some have looked back at some of the greatest moments of his career.

Nadal’s matches against Roger Federer have been looked back upon fondly, with the Swiss star’s former coach recalling how he used to plan for their encounters.

Roger Federer’s former coach Paul Annacone ‘loved’ game planning against Rafael Nadal

Speaking prior to the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Federer’s former coach Paul Annacone revealed how he felt when game planning against Nadal.

“I actually loved it, I love challenges, look I don’t have to beat him,” he joked.

“I loved being able to try to participate, help, contribute, and add value no matter who I’m coaching.

“When you see, to me arguably the best competitor of all time in any sport, and then you have to figure out how to conquer that, there’s no bigger challenge.

“Luckily for me I also got to play with one of the most gifted athletes who has ever held a tennis racket, so what a great contrast between the two.

“It was always fun to try to sit there and problem solve and figure out what Roger [Federer] could do to make him uncomfortable.”

Annacone went on to explain the parallels between what happened with Federer and Nadal, and Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

“Great athletes like challenges, they don’t look at it as a detriment, they look at it as an impetus to be interested, they’re interested because they’ve got to try and figure out new ways to do things,” he said.

“Interestingly enough, Roger had to change his game to figure out how to be more competitive with Rafa, and then Rafa kind of had to do that to figure out how to be more competitive with Novak [Djokovic].

“It’s been such an amazing 20 years of excellence with these guys.”

In a final nod to the excellence of Nadal’s career, Annacone spoke of his greatest ability on the tennis court.

“It was his ability to play every single point like his life depended on it,” he said.

Did Paul Annacone coach Roger Federer to wins against Rafael Nadal?

Annacone coached Federer between 2010 and 2013, winning the 2012 Wimbledon title, all whilst helping the Swiss return to world number one.

But how did Federer fare against Nadal whilst Annacone was his coach?

During their time together, Federer trailed the head-to-head 7-3, struggling against the legendary Spaniard.

In contrast, Federer turned things on their head after Annacone’s departure, winning seven of the next ten encounters with Nadal.

Annacone may well have loved game planning against the 38-year-old, but he didn’t quite get the results to show for it during his time as Federer’s coach.