Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, deeply linked in their own minds and the public’s for more than a decade, have even more in common now.
Until 2016, Nadal was the only one of the two tennis superstars who had dealt with significant injuries, who understood how it felt to watch major events unfold from a distance as his rivals held up the championship trophies.
But Federer is now, for better or worse, part of that club after missing much of last season because of knee surgery, and he is looking to Nadal for inspiration as they both return to Grand Slam tennis at the Australian Open after encouraging early-season results.