Rafael Nadal reveals his strategy against Djokovic and Federer and tells Andy Roddick who he thinks is the best
Novak Djokovic may have won more Grand Slams than any other male tennis player, but the debate about who the greatest ever is will likely rumble on forever, especially for fans of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
What is certain is that Djokovic, Federer and Nadal are the three main names in any conversation about a men’s tennis GOAT. The trio took part in some epic counters against one another for 15 years or so, often in finals. Between 2006 and 2023, they won 64 of the 72 Grand Slams played.
Appearing on the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, Nadal explained to the 2003 US Open champion, who lost three Wimbledon finals to Federer, the strategies he used to take his two greatest rivals down. And he also appeared to dip his toe into the ‘greatest ever’ discussion by hinting at which of his foes he found most difficult to face.
Nadal on Federer: “The strategy was clear”
Nadal first faced Federer as an 17-year-old in the 2004 Miami Open, springing a surprise by winning in two sets. Up until the Swiss’ retirement in September 2022, the two met 40 times, with the Spaniard boasting a 24-16 record.
“With Roger, I think the strategy was clear. It’s a little bit more like a chess match. Everybody knows what’s going to happen. Everybody knows what the strategy is going to be.
“Of course, when he was playing very well, he beat me. When I was playing well, I beat him. And then at the end of his career, I think he made a kind of step forward, he was playing much, much more aggressively.
“For me, he was making some more mistakes against me at the beginning of his career. He was trying to play from his backhand, again with topspin, so I had the chance to keep hitting forehands against his backhand.
“At the end of his career, he started to go in. Taking more risks. 2017 for a while was the best level of his career.”
Nadal on Djokovic: “The best I ever played”
Nadal explained he was less certain about the best way to defeat Djokovic. However, he did offer current stars some pointers as to how they might take down the Serb, who continues to play at the age of 37.
Before his own retirement from tennis in November last year, the Spanish star faced Djokovic 60 times, an Open era record, just coming out on the wrong side of the head to head (29-31).
“We don’t play the same style, of course, it’s not the clear strategy that I had against Roger, who I could damage against his backhand. With Novak, I didn’t have that feeling.
“The feeling was I needed to play very well for a long time and know that I have to adjust things. I couldn’t play too many times against his backhand, especially high balls, because then he takes the ball quicker and puts you in a very difficult position. So I started to use the slice more against him.
“Sometimes it worked well for me, and sometimes against Novak it was good to play to the middle (of the court) to not give him a lot of angles.
“It terms of ball control, I think he’s the best I ever played”.