Federer: "There will never be a rivalry like that between me and Nadal"

"For players like Rafa or me, being number 2 or number 5 isn't life-changing. What is life-changing is being number 1, as both of us has in the past. Being among the favourites is not important, the important thing is to believe that you are ready to win", says the Swiss tennis ace in an interview with Marca.

With regard to the current rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, he looks back on his years of battling it out against Rafa Nadal. To sum it up, he says: "There will never be a rivalry like ours. Not even that between Borg and McEnroe, despite their different personalities and one being left-handed and the other right-handed. Murray and Djokovic are very similar. Rafa and I are extreme opposites and that's what the fans like so much. Our rivalry isn't over, I'm sure it will be back, I miss it".

Choosing 2009 as his year, he explains, "In 2006, I won 92 matches and lost five. In 2003, I won my first Wimbledon and the Masters. But I finally won the Roland Garros in 2009, my wife was pregnant at that time. I equalled Pete Sampras's 14 Grand Slam record, and surpassed him at Wimbledon."

Federer goes to the U.S. Open as the number five seed. "Rafa was the number 5 for the Roland Garros and Wimbledon. If you play well, you play well, you have to beat everyone".

Date: 25th July 2013, Source: Marca