Rafael Nadal of Spain attends a news conference before the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne January 15, 2012. REUTERS/Toby MelvilleReuters
They may be on the same side of the draw at a major tournament for the first time since 2005, but Rafael Nadal isn't on Roger Federer's side when it comes to publicly critiquing the sport.
In a pre-tournament news conference for the Australian Open on Sunday, Nadal criticized Federer's lack of public critiques.
Nadal, who had said he did not want to be the face of players' complaints about the sport because it had made him look bad previously, later offered a negative take on Federer's reputation for staying out of the fray publicly.
"No, I totally disagree," he said, with his comments translated from Spanish, when asked if Federer did not like players griping publicly because of the effect on the sport. "For him it's good to say nothing. Everything positive. 'It's all well and good for me, I look like a gentleman,' and the rest can burn themselves.
"Everyone is entitled to have their own opinions."
Players, including Nadal and fourth-ranked Andy Murray, have complained about scheduling recently, saying the tour's calendar was overcrowded.
Seeking change in the scheduling, Nadal said in September players could consider striking if things do not change.
"We don't want to get there," he told reporters during the Davis Cup. "We want to play. But if it's a fight about something that we think is fair, something would have to happen. Sometimes the only way to make things happen is to choose strong action."
After dominating the sport for most of the last decade, with Federer winning 16 Grand Slam titles and Nadal claiming 10, the players watched Novak Djokovic win three of the four majors last year, taking the No. 1 ranking.
Nadal is second and Federer third and would face each other in the semi-finals of the Australian Open if they got that far, the first time they'd been on the same side of the bracket since the 2005 French Open.
Federer will begin play in the Open on Monday, against Alexander Kudryavtsev. Nadal will play Alex Kuznetsov.
Both Federer and Nadal have a history of representing the sport, but Nadal said in the Spanish-language interview that you can represent it while also being critical.
"(Federer) likes the circuit. I like the circuit," Nadal said. "It's much better than many other sports, but that doesn't mean that it couldn't be better. It doesn't mean there are some things about the tour that could change. The tour is fine, but there are some things that are bad. That's all we're saying.
"And the vast majority of players have this same opinion. He's got a different opinion. ... If the vast majority have one opinion, and a small minority think differently, maybe it's them who are wrong."