Tennis world english n 45 Tennis World english 45 | Page 28

Roger Federer and
Stanislas Wawrinka:
Best Friends Forever
in Tennis?
Akshay
Making
friends
when
the
nature
of
the
sport
is
so
competitive,
is
almost
a
troublesome
task,
one
that
requires
major
overlooking
of
the
on-court
rivalry
and
off
court
gossip.
Hence,
it
has
been
stated
that
professionals
in
the
WTA
tour
find
it
more
difficult
than
the
men
in
the
ATP
tour
to
make
an
everlasting
bond
with
their
female
counterparts.
A
very
stand-out
example
of
this
is
Maria
Sharapova,
who
probably
isn't
liked
all
that
much
by
her
compatriots.

But
there
are
some
women
in
tennis
whose
friendships
have
stood
the
test
of
time
and
it
is
heartening
to
see
that
to
date,
probably
barring
a
few
women,
their
on-court
rivalry
takes
a
backseat
when
it
comes
to
friendship
which
is
regarded
above
all.

Some
of
these
women
are:
Victoria
Azarenka
and
Alona
Bondarenko,
Andrea
Petkovic
and
Angelique
Kerber,
Svetlana
Kuznetsova
and
Anna
Chakvetadze,
Sorana
Cristea
and
Ana
Ivanovic,
etc.
Sorana
Cristea
and
Ana
Ivanovic:
Romanian
Sorana
Cristea
shares
a
deep
bond
with
the
Serbian
player
Ana
Ivanovic.
So
deep
is
their
friendship
that
once
Cristea
said
about
the
two,
“We
are
so
similar
in
everything,
now
a
lot
of
times,
we
don’t
even
have
to
speak,
we
know
what
we
are
feeling.
It’s
just
so
nice
to
have
someone
like
her
on
the
circuit
and
just
be
able
to
share
this
time
together
because
we
spend
so
much
time
at
the
tournaments.
So
it’s
nice
to
have
someone
you
can
call
family.”
Angelique
Kerber
and
Andrea
Petkovic
The
fellow
Germans
and
former
doubles
partners
have
been
good
friends
for
a
while
now.
The
fact
that
the
rapport
they
share
with
each
other
has
been
great
from
the
start
allows
them
to
win
matches
with
conviction.
In
an
interview
with
USA
Today
in
2013,
speaking
of
the
German
contingent
at
the
Sony
Open,
Andrea
Petkovic
was
all
praise
for
her
friend.
She
said,
“Angelique
Kerber
is
a
very
close
friend
of
mine.
She
came
to
practice
with
me
where
I
was
living
after
she
went
through
a
terrible
losing
streak
and
then
she
made
the
semi-finals
of
the
2011
US
Open.
We
share
a
lot
of
things
and
it’s
really
funny
because
we
are
such
different
personalities.
Somehow
it
seems
to
be
functioning
well.
I’m
an
extrovert,
I
just
like
to
go
out,
be
loud,
and
talk
a
lot.
Angie
is
a
person
who
holds
herself
back.
It’s
good
vibrations
between
us,
which
is
really
amazing
because
we
played
each
other
15-20
times
in
juniors.”
Anna
Chakvetadze
and
her
relationship
with
both
Elena
Vesnina
and
Svetlana
Kuznetosova.

The
retired
Russian
professional
tennis
player
and
former
World
No.5
had
a
short
run
in
the
game.
Due
to
her
suffering
from
bouts
of
Neurocardiogenic
Syncope
and
a
persistent
back
problem,
this
top
notch
player
had
to
retire
early,
despite
that
her
friendship
with
fellow
Russians
whose
careers
are
still
very
much
flourishing
unlike
Anna’s,
has
been