Roger Federer once chastised Rafael Nadal for taking too long between points during the 2014 Wimbledon Championships. The Swiss expressed his belief that such slow play could be detrimental to the sport by turning audiences away.

That year, No. 2 seed Nadal advanced to the third round of the grasscourt Major with a 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-4 win over Lukas Rosol. A big talking point after the contest was the Spaniard’s average time of 25 seconds between points.

Roger Federer also weighed in on the issue after his dominant 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 victory against Gilles Muller in the second round at SW19, admitting that the Spaniard’s excessive delays were “not cool.”

The Swiss emphasized that it was important for players to maintain a brisk pace to ensure that they didn’t lose the viewers’ attention.

“I just think it’s important that we, as players, play up to speed because what I don’t want is that we lose viewers because we play too slow,” he said (via the Guardian).

Federer also asserted that taking 25 seconds between points to focus was excessive, as it only allowed for two points to be played in one minute. Furthermore, the Swiss recounted his frustrating struggle to follow a match due to a player’s slow pace.

“Particularly if the points are short. You cannot take 25 seconds. I mean, I know you need to focus. That you can do in 10 seconds. It just can’t be that we only see two points per minute,” he said.

“Of course you need to give leeway [after] tough rallies and to somebody who needs a bit more time. I’m fine with that. I watched some matches, I don’t remember who it was, but they were playing so slow I was like, OK, I really can’t watch it. It’s going too slow for me,” he added.

“We know how much time Rafael Nadal used to take” – Roger Federer on Spaniard escaping point penalties for time violations

Roger Federer’s criticism of Rafael Nadal taking too long between points was unsurprising, given that the Swiss had previously addressed the issue during the 2014 Australian Open.

Following his 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-3 loss to the Spaniard in the semifinals, Federer raised his complaints about Nadal’s inconsistent grunt. He also spoke about the leniency afforded to his rival for his slow pace.

Although the Swiss acknowledged that Nadal had improved in this regard, he pointed out that the Spaniard had only received two point penalties for time violations in their encounters, despite his notorious slow play between points.

“Rafa is doing a much better job today than he used to. I mean, I’m not complaining much about the time. But I think I’ve played him, what, 33 or 34 times. He’s gotten two point penalties over the course of our rivalry. I just think that’s not quite happening. I mean, we know how much time he used to take,” he said.

Federer also clarified that he wasn’t complaining about Nadal’s slow pace but emphasized that the rules should be enforced consistently for all players, including top stars like himself, Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

“I’m not complaining about so many things. But, I mean, either you have rules or you don’t. If you don’t have rules, it’s fine. Everybody can do whatever they want to do. I just think it’s important to enforce the rules on many levels, whatever it may be. On all the players the same way. Don’t give me or Djokovic a free pass just because of who we are,” he added.

Roger Federer’s compatriot Stan Wawrinka dashed Rafael Nadal’s hopes of clinching his second Australian Open title, beating the Spaniard 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the final.