'Ice-cool' Federer slams Nadal's 'distracting' grunting, slow play following Oz Open exit

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer has slammed world number one Rafael Nadal's loud grunting and slow play after he was defeated at the hands of his aggressive opponent at the Australian Open semi-finals on Friday.

Federer's usually ice-cool and polished demeanour cracked after he crashed to a seventh consecutive Grand Slam defeat to his rival and in straight sets in Melbourne and he complained to the umpire mid-match about Nadal's ball-striking grunt and that the Spaniard repeatedly goes unpunished for time violations.

According to Sport24, Federer said that he found Nadal's grunt distracting because the Spaniard was making a noise during some points, although he insisted that it had no impact on the outcome of the game.

Federer further said that Nadal, who is notoriously slow to serve, should have racked up several time violations during their 33-match rivalry although he has only received two, adding that rules should be in place for every player.

However, Nadal expressed surprise over Federer's exchange with the umpire, and said that nobody had complained about his grunting before, adding that the last thing he is thinking about while he is playing is bothering his opponent.