By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday March 13, 2025
On the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, Rafael Nadal joins the previous US Open champion for a particularly candid interview. Rafa talks for an hour with Roddick and all the interview is nice.
However when the dialog turned to Nadal speaking about his Large Three rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, ears are certain to perk up. Unsure we’ve ever heard Nadal discuss concerning the nuts and bolts of his tennis this manner. As a result of when he performed he was all the time apprehensive about giving up an excessive amount of of his ways.
Now that he’s retired he can lastly communicate frankly about what he was coping with when going through these two giants of the sport in probably the most unimaginable period that males’s tennis has ever seen.
Verify the total episode beneath:
And listed here are some unimaginable snippets that we’ve transcribed for you:
Nadal on Why Federer-Nadal was extra enticing to followers than Djokovic-Nadal
For my part that’s why the rivalry with Roger was a little bit bit extra enticing for the followers, than Novak in opposition to me. Even when I performed extra instances with Novak, and we performed precisely the identical variety of essential matches, or much more. As a result of with Roger I feel the technique was extra clear.
Nadal on the ways of Federer vs Nadal
I used to be making an attempt to do one factor, he was making an attempt to do one other. In a roundabout way I used to be making an attempt to kill his backhand on a regular basis, and even for me, if I had the prospect to play the shot down the road, I used to be saying to myself: Okay, when I’ve to play the shot down the road it’s just for two causes: one, for the winner. The opposite is as a result of I have to get him away from that aspect to create extra space once more.
And he was making an attempt to keep away from that.
He was making an attempt to play aggressively. Everytime when he was hitting his forehand I felt like I needed to step again, as a result of his forehand, for me, is the very best that I performed in opposition to. It was a little bit bit extra like a chess match. All people knew what was going to occur, all people knew what the technique was going to be. After which when he was enjoying very effectively, he beat me, after I was enjoying effectively I beat him. Initially of my profession, I beat him extra on clay and on hardcourts it had been far more troublesome.
Nadal on why 2017 Federer was probably the most troublesome model of Federer he ever confronted:
Then arrived the second that I used to be in a position to beat him on laborious courts a few instances. After which on the finish of his profession I feel he made a step ahead. He was enjoying far more aggressively and, for me, he was making a mistake in opposition to me at first of his profession, by enjoying together with his backhand topspin, which gave me the prospect to maintain hitting forehands in opposition to his backhand. Then on the finish of the profession he began to go in and take extra danger.
For me, truthfully in 2017, for some time it was the very best stage of his profession – for me. You felt that you just have been in his palms. In fact on hardcourts. On clay, it was little bit completely different. He performed very, very aggressively and his serve was so troublesome to learn for me, it was very troublesome to foretell what was occurring.
Nadal on what made the Djokovic rivalry completely different:
In opposition to Novak it was a little bit bit completely different. We are able to have a method, however on the finish it’s about… I have to play effectively. We don’t play the identical type after all, however there was not a transparent technique like I had in opposition to Roger, the place I’d harm his backhand. In opposition to Novak I didn’t have that feeling. The sensation was that I would wish to play very effectively for a very long time, and know that I needed to alter issues.
Nadal on why Djokovic had the very best ball management ever
I couldn’t play too many instances in opposition to his backhand, particularly excessive balls as a result of then he takes the ball faster and places you in a really troublesome place, so I began to make use of the slice extra in opposition to him, and typically it labored for me effectively, and typically in opposition to Novak it was good for me to play to the center. Don’t give him a variety of angles. With Novak whenever you have been in a position to open him, if you happen to don’t actually create a variety of harm, he was in a position to open you extra. When it comes to management – ball management – I feel he’s the very best I ever performed, and that I ever noticed.
