Dominic Thiem and Denis Shapovalov explain what was ‘so different’ about facing Roger Federer compared to Rafael Nadal

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Rafael Nadal has left Novak Djokovic as the last man standing in the ‘Big Three’ after his retirement at the Davis Cup.

Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer lead the way for men’s Grand Slam titles, with 24, 22 and 20 respectively.

Federer predicted Djokovic to win many more Grand Slams after he moved onto 23 at the 2023 French Open, but the Serbian hasn’t exactly kicked on since then.

The trio dominated the scene for several years, with Djokovic now able to extend his record thanks to the absence of his two former rivals.

But the displays of all three, particularly at Grand Slam level, were so great that several other players simply had no chance of major success.

Dominic Thiem makes Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal claim

The likes of Andy Murray and Dominic Thiem can count themselves unlucky in this regard, with both players having also retired this season.

Thiem has now been speaking of Federer and Nadal’s ability, having been joined by current players Denis Shapovalov and Thanasi Kokkinakis in a discussion on UTS Tour.

Shapovalov began on Federer, saying: “He can literally make you feel like a junior, because I played in Miami semi-finals, I beat good players, I beat [Andrey] Rublev, I beat [Frances] Tiafoe on the way there, I beat some other guys, and yeah I felt like a junior on the court. It was insane.”

READ MORE: Dominic Thiem reacts on court at the Vienna Open after playing his last ever tennis match before retiring

Kokkinakis then added: “No one can make you feel more ridiculous than him. I’ve never seen him sweat, his hair just stays like that. He’s got the biggest calves ever, if he shaved his legs it would have been game over for everyone. And also he’s not even trying.”

Shapovalov concurred: “He’s not even trying. He is just like messing around. He’s slicing one point, hitting the next,” with Kokkinakis continuing: “At least when Rafa plays he’s grunting and you’re feeling like you’re getting pushed around. And with Nole (Djokovic) he’s just sliding and stuff.”

Shapovalov added: “But to me, they’re so different. I felt like Rafa was so predictable. You knew exactly what he’s going to do but he’s just so good at it that you can’t do anything right?”

Thiem then commented: “But Roger, you feel like okay I’m going to play full heavy spin on his backhand, I think that’s good. And then first point you play a really good one to his backhand, and he steps in and he goes down the line.”

What was Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal’s head-to-head record?

Federer will perhaps be glad Nadal has called time on his career, with the Spaniard now not able to move any further ahead of the Swiss legend in the Grand Slam titles chart.

The former is, however, ahead of the latter in terms of ATP Tour-level titles, with Federer clinching 103 compared to Nadal’s 92.

READ MORE: Andy Roddick explains why he couldn’t challenge Roger Federer but Rafael Nadal could

But the bragging rights go back to the recently retired Spaniard regarding their head-to-head record on the ATP Tour.

The legendary duo met 40 times on the court, with Nadal posting 24 victories compared to the 16 of Federer.

But amid the thrilling rivalry, there was undoubtedly a mutual respect between the pair, with both having given so much time and effort to tennis during their lives.