Nadal shares a moving final praise for Federer: "He was the perfection"

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Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have rewritten the history of tennis and sport, I shouldn't be the one writing this article to remind it to my readers and all tennis fans. But what the Big 3 have achieved in recent years should always be underlined. "Without having seen the Sistine Chapel it is not possible to form an appreciable idea of what one man is capable of achieving," said Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on his famous Grand Tour stop in Rome, Italy. I would like to say that, without having seen Nadal, Federer and Djokovic play, it is not possible to form an appreciable idea of what individual people are capable of achieving! The rivalry between them was great, but there were also moments of tension. In an interview with El Pais, Nadal shared flattering words towards Federer, also throwing a dig at Djokovic.

Nadal praise Federer, and on Djokovic...

"Roger Federer was perfection on an aesthetic level, on an elegance level, on a technical level. When I arrived, he was number one in the world, and he found himself a rival with long hair and an exuberant physique. Elegance against a warrior Tennis is emotion, emotion is what attracts you. There are different factors that come together. I won't tell you some because it's difficult for me, it's not up to me to comment on them. But as far as tennis is concerned it's clear. Roger Federer is the player who impressed me the most, the one who entertained me the most, the one who moved me the most. I was more excited to see Federer play than Djokovic. It's a very radical combination of styles. There was a package of combinations of personalities and styles. This, combined with the fact that we played so many matches on the biggest stages, transformed our rivalry into something that transcended more than any other duel," Nadal explained.

The Big 3© Julian Finney / Staff Getty Images Sport  

The Spanish champion also responded to a recent interview with Djokovic. The ATP No.1, in an interview with CBS 60 Minutes, said how he was intimidated and unnerved by Rafael Nadal's attitudes in the locker room at the beginning of their careers. The Spanish champion replied to his Serbian rival, in the same interview with El Pais, explaining: "I warm up like this. I try to be prepared and ready to go, and I exercise. I didn't hear what Djokovic said, honestly. It's never been , never, never my intention."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/yxg0VA3

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