Rafael Nadal snubs Novak Djokovic in greatest rivalry debate with Roger Federer claim made
Rafael Nadal has admitted that his rivalry with Roger Federer was more attractive to tennis fans than his showdowns with Novak Djokovic. The 38-year-old didn’t, however, downplay Djokovic’s ability on the court. Spain’s star made up one-third of a trio that will likely be remembered as their sport’s mightiest heroes.
Throughout their glistening careers, Federer took home 20 Grand Slam titles, while Nadal hoisted 22 aloft. Djokovic – the only one of the three still active, sits on a record-breaking 24. No other player is close to any of the three, with Pete Sampras fourth on the list with 14. When any of these icons faced off, their battles were immense and drew eyes to screens, but Nadal has admitted that he and his Swiss adversary combined to form a rivalry that captured audiences more than when he faced Djokovic.
“Completely different approaches to the matches,” Nadal began, speaking on fellow ex-pro Andy Roddick’s Served podcast. “I think with Roger the match, I think that’s, in my opinion, why the rivalry with Roger was a little bit more attractive for the fans than Novak against me even if I played more times against Novak.
“With Roger, I think the strategy was more clear. It’s a little more of a chess match. Everybody knows what’s going to happen, and everybody knows what the strategy is going to be. Then, of course, when he was playing very well, he beat me. When I was playing well, I beat him.
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“At the end of his career, I think he made a step forward. He was playing much, much more aggressive. For me he was making some little mistakes against me at the beginning of his career when he was trying to play from his backhand again with topspin, so he gave me the chance to keep hitting forehands against his backhand.
“I was trying to kill his backhand all the time, and even if I had the chance to play the shot down the line, I was saying to myself, ‘Okay, I have to play the shot down the line. It’s only for two reasons: One is because I go for the winner, or the other is because I need to put him away from that side to create more space.’ Honestly, in 2017, for a while, he was at the best level of his career.”
However, Nadal took no glory away from his other worthy opponent, Djokovic, admitting that their matches were less calculated and that the 37-year-old was the player with the greatest control of a tennis ball he’d ever seen.
“I think against Novak – we don’t play the same style, and it’s not the clearest strategy as against Roger – I would damage him against his backhand, but against Novak, I didn’t have that feeling,” continued Nadal.
“The feeling is, ‘I need to play very well for a long and I have to adjust things.’ I can’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 and sometimes against Novak it was good to play into the middle. In terms of ball control, I think he’s the best I every played.”