Posted on 07/13/2023 12:29:09 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Rafael Nadal's uncle Tony Nadal believes it is unfair to compare his nephew's achievements to that of Novak Djokovic due to the injuries the Spaniard sustained during his career. Djokovic recently surpassed Nadal's 22 grand slams to set a new record for men's tennis.
But Uncle Tony believes Nadal would have won more than the Serbian superstar if he hadn't of missed so many tournaments due to various physical issues.
Speaking to Clay, he said: "I think Federer and Nadal have transcended their sport more than Djokovic. And Federer has transcended more into his sport than anyone.
"When it comes to cataloguing people who is the best… we would have to establish clear standards that are always a bit debatable, because who is the best, the one with the world record or the one who wins the Olympics?
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 the most is Djokovic and if we told Rafael everything he hasn't played due to injury, he probably would have won more than the others."
When asked whether he was suggesting that Djokovic is better than Nadal, he replied: "Well, Djokovic is better because he has won more titles than Rafael.
Djokovic has 389 weeks at no. 1, Federer has 310, Nadal has 186.
Djokovic has 246 victories against top 10 players. Federer has 224, Nadal has 186.
Keep in mind, Federer is about 5 years older than Nadal, and Nadal is about 11 months older than Djokovic.
If he had some eggs.
If it weren’t for this pesky hangnail, I’d have beat them all!
If Willie Mays and Ted Williams hadn’t missed a couple of years serving in the military they could have set multiple all time baseball records, injuries are part of the game, Djokovic has been remarkably healthy throughout his career but he also missed a few tournaments due to Covid
Djokovic should be commended for avoiding major injuries, unlike Nadal.
Are there any crazy uncles out there decrying Djokovic’s unfair treatment during the Covid atrocity?
Djokovic should be commended for avoiding major injuries, unlike Nadal.
Are there any crazy uncles out there decrying Djokovic’s unfair treatment during the Covid atrocity?
In my opinion... Federer and Sampras had a weakness, a tiny chink in the armor, involving that inefficient one-handed backhand that both used, i.e. the shot could not generate power from near the baseline or behind it.
“Nadal would have won more than”
so he didn’t win more, did he?
Trying to weasel around the plain meaning of plain words.
With this guys word salad reasoning, he should be a politician.
FWIW - Tennis parents can be a real challenge. Spent many moons past dealing with Bollettieri Parents that would have curled anyone’s bloomers.
No. The Lamestream media doesn't like anyone who refuses to go along with their SCAM-demic jab agenda.
Exactly!
And Willie Mays was forced to start in the Negro Leagues, instead of MLB. Not sure if that’s where Ted Williams started.
“[I]f he hadn’t of missed”? No. “if he hadn’t have missed.”
In my opinion,
Nadal’s playing style that made him nearly unstoppable on clay led to a great deal of wear and tear on his body.
I believe in many ways the reason he won if also the reason he missed tournaments due to injury or rehab.
The knife cuts both ways, completely selling out to win, but ending up with fewer opportunities to keep winning.
Nadal, great heart.
Federer, the best who will ever be better,..... until
Djokovic, the machine.
Borg would have won 30 titles if he hadn’t retired at age 26.
Good grief, Djokovic could make similar excuses if he wanted.
Nadal won the 2022 Australian Open only because Djokovic got kicked out of the country for not getting the holy vax.
And Djokovic also had injuries and medical issues that caused him to missed out on Grand Slam titles. He underwent elbow surgery in 2018 and suffered fatigue for years from a then unknown gluten intolerance.
I would have knocked out Mike Tyson if I hadn’t gotten knocked out first.
Djokovic is the GOAT. but he does like to have a cocktail or two mixed by his team in the stands.
Nadal is primarily a clay court player. 14 of his 22 grand slam titles came at the French Open. When all is said and done, Djokovic will be deemed the GOAT. Roger is next and Nadal third.
Part of greatness is longevity along with durability. We have been fortunate to witness the greatest era in men’s tennis.
It is meaningful , IMO, to compare these guys, since they are essentially in the same era...But even so, the age factor seems to impact Federer in this discussion.
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