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Rafa Nadal celebrates Federer's success on Twitter

Rafael Nadal waves to the centre court crowd following defeat on day eleven of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon. (Photo by Adrian Dennis/PA Images via Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal waves to the centre court crowd following defeat on day eleven of the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, Wimbledon. (Photo by Adrian Dennis/PA Images via Getty Images)

It was always going to be tough match when two of the superstars of modern tennis took to the grass court at Wimbledon today. But it looks like the better man won – at least according to the loser, Rafa Nadal.

After the Spaniard lost to Roger Federer, he took to social media to commend his adversary’s superior tennis skills.

“Amazing match well deserved win by @rogerfederer I had some chances but... Roger played better,” Nadal tweeted.

He then appeared to throw his support behind the world number 3 seed for the final, by continuing, “Good luck for the final @Wimbledon 2019. Thanks all for the support. Always fantastic to be here. See you next year!”

So far there have been over 2.4k responses to his sentiments, with Nadal’s fans reacting warmly calling him a “legend” and “true class”.

It was the first time the two men had met at Wimbledon since 2008. Their last clash was described by John McEnroe at the time as “the greatest match I’ve ever seen.”

Read more: Federer vs Nadal: The rivalry and 2008 Wimbledon final that defined tennis

With Novak Djokovic also through to final two, Sunday’s final is set to be a scorcher.

After Djokovic fought his way through beating Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets he also took to social media to celebrate his opponent.

“A battle today,” he tweeted, “lots of respect for Roberto @BautistaAgut.”

Read more: Roger Federer fends off Rafael Nadal to advance to Wimbledon final vs. Novak Djokovic

Now it’s all down to Sunday to decide this year’s winner. Federer and the Serb have clashed a total of 47 times, with Djokovic currently having the edge on the older player.

Novak Djokovic is also the current Wimbledon champion, after beating Kevin Anderson last year in three straight sets.