The opinions concerning ‘The Big 3’ and who among them is the G.O.A.T. changes every day. This year started with Novak Djokovic winning the Australian Open, French Open and continuing to be undefeatable at Wimbledon Championships. Rafael Nadal was the favorite before he exited the Australian Open early and pulled out of the Roland Garros. Nadal’s longtime coach and uncle Toni Nadal, hailed Djokovic as a complete player upon lifting the 22nd Slam, equaling his nephew’s record. The coach hailed the Serb as the most complete player and opined that it is impossible to beat him unless it is Roger Federer.
While the ex-coach of Rafa never fails to acknowledge Djokovic’s greatness, he remains loyal to Federer. In a recent interview, Rafa’s uncle once again claimed that Nadal and Federer are the ‘Big Two’ of Tennis despite Djokovic’s glory and rationalized his theory by delving into their various achievements.
The celestial play of Roger Federer makes him the eternal champion of Tennis
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In an interview with ‘Clay’, Nadal’s uncle asserted that Djoker is only next to his nephew and Federer, but the Swiss star is undoubtedly the best player of all. When asked if he would agree with Juan Monaco’s opinion that ‘The Big Two’ are more important in Tennis history than Djoker, he said, “I think Federer and Nadal have transcended their sport more than Djokovic. And Federer has transcended his sport more than anyone else. When it comes to categorizing who is the best? we would have to establish clear standards that are always a bit open to opinion..”
He also added that the three are, again, different in their own ways and achieved different things that are difficult to compare. Toni Nadal said, “Who is the best, the one who holds the world record or the one who wins the Olympics? I don?t know. I think the one who has managed to play at a better level and do more difficult things is Federer, the one who has won more is Djokovic and if we were to count all the things Rafael hasn?t played because of injury, he would probably have won more than the others.”
Talking about his nephew and comparing him with Djokovic, Nadal said that ‘The king of Clay’ would have won more than Djokovic if not for the surfaces they played on. He also revealed what Nadal is currently doing.
Toni Nadal’s distinctive take on who is better between Djokovic and Nadal
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Drawing a comparison between the two other than Federer, the Tennis coach said, “..Let?s establish a number of things: we live in a tour that is always played on fast courts. My nephew always plays three Grand Slams on the surface he doesn?t do well and one on the surface he does well. He has always played all the Masters on the surface he doesn?t do well on.”
The 62-year-old said that if Tour de France was to be conducted on mountains, one type of rider will win, and if it is based on a time trail, another would win. While agreeing that ‘King Roger’ is better in everything, the Spanish coach did not agree with the categories that compare Rafa and Djokovic. He went on to say that Rafa would have even won 35 Slams if they had happened on Clay.
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Talking about Rafa’s comeback, his uncle said that ‘The King of Clay’ is still not in a position to play Tennis, and it requires more time for him to return to the court because the 22 times Slam winner plans to stay for a considerable time when he returns. He also dismissed the rumors of Rafa distancing himself from Tennis and stated that he is present in the academy with him. Uncle Toni has always been clear about his priorities, and for him, ‘The Swiss Maestro’ is undisputedly the best of all time.
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