By Chris Oddo | Wednesday January 25, 2017

Rafael Nadal is not only excited about his own personal return to the semifinal stage of a Grand Slam, he’s also moved by his rival Roger Federer’s comeback.

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Will Rafa be watching tonight’s first men’s semifinal in Melbourne, between Stan Wawrinka and Federer? Oh yeah.

"I love the sport, more than anything,” He said on Wednesday night after defeating Milos Raonic in straight sets to reach his first major semifinal since 2014. “If you don’t want to watch this match you don’t like a lot the sport.”

Nadal, who knows a thing or two about coming back from devastating injuries (he had to work through a serious wrist injury that eventually ended his season in 2016, and that's just the back end of a long litany of injuries suffered by Nadal over the last decade), expressed a deep respect for how well Federer has been able to come out of the blocks in 2017. “I think it’s amazing, no, after having a tough injury for so many months to have Roger back in the semifinals again, on a Grand Slam, here in the first of the season which makes it even tougher for him,” Nadal said.

Nadal and Federer famously spent time together this off-season, when Federer flew to Nadal’s new tennis academy in Mallorca to be on hand for the launch of the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy. It was more evidence that as they grow older, both Federer and Nadal clearly appreciate how much their histories are linked and how much the talents of the other helped their own games to blossom.

“I'm really here to honor the great man, Rafa,” Federer said in Mallorca. “I think it's wonderful that he's taken this journey on to give the kids something back. I've been around the game 17 years. I've seen a lot of hard workers and inspiring players, but you've been the one in my opinion who has been the most inspiring and most influential and made me the player I am today.”

Nadal not only appreciates Federer’s form, he also appreciates what Federer’s return to form means to tennis fans. He’s aware that Federer has legions of fans every bit as passionate as his own legions.

“The real thing is that he's back and he's probably ready to win again, fighting again to win a major,” Nadal said. “That's the real thing, and that's good for the fans because Roger is a legend of our sport, no?”

He added: “That’s great, especially for him, but especially for all the people who love tennis. Just congratulate him for a great effort and I wish the best of luck for both of them—Stan and Roger and we hope to see a great match.”