Nadal Compares rivalry with Federer and Djokovic

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 27th September 2013

Nadal Compares rivalry with Federer and Djokovic

epa03866369 Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal returns to Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky during the Davis Cup play-off round match between Spain and Ukraine at the Caja Magica in Madrid, central Spain, 13 September 2013. EPA/EMILIO NARANJO |

Rafael Nadal finds it hard to compare his longtime rivalry with Roger Federer against his more recent matches against Novak Djokovic, with the Spaniard who has dominated this season on the ÀTP refusing to pick out a favorite elite opponent.

“They are completely different matches that you approach differently. They are special matches,” he told dpa, the German news agency. “With Federer, I have shared and continue to share a rivalry since I started out. We have lived very beautiful moments in our careers.

“But with Novak too, I’m happy to have been in the midst of these rivalries and to have played matches like the ones I have played against them both,” said the world No. 2 who claimed his tenth title of 2013 winning his second US Open this month over Djokovic.

While he is bearing down the Djokovic’s ATP top ranking with a mere 60 points of difference, the Spaniard obligingly kept the door open for a possible return to the top spot by Federer, who has held it longer than any player in history. “Why not? You never know. I do not think that his primary objective is to return to No. 1. That is my impression. His goal is to remain competitive to win tournaments he really fills, rather than being number one or not.”

While always reluctant to trumpet his own massive achievements on court, Nadal admitted that he, Federer, Djokovic and to some extent Andy Murray had been the men to beat for years on the circuit. “Of the 34 most recent majors, there has been just one winner outside the rankings top four (Juan Del Potro, US Open, 2009), the rest went to Federer, Djokovic, Murray or me. It means that the current generation has been dominant, regular and of a very high standard.”

Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, Atp, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Tennis, Tennis News, US Open