Rafael Nadal has been enjoying his return to action after missing Wimbledon in Bastad, with two wins already in the singles and doubles.
He has looked a little rusty, but still showcased glimpses of the legendary talent that has led many to suggest he is the greatest of all time.
However, that is a debate that will likely forever rage on, with fans of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer sure to offer their opinions on the matter.
In fact, after what Rafael Nadal has just recently said whilst doing his media duties at the Swedish Open, it is the former who has reacted with anger…
What Rafael Nadal said about Novak Djokovic
Actually asked about Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal was full of praise for Carlos Alcaraz, but buried within his comments were a slight dig at Djokovic that his fanbase has not taken lightly.
After all, he outlined why his compatriot will likely achieve plenty of success, noting the hardships he is lucky not to have to face.
He claimed: ‘I think the best thing that he has today is that in every tournament that he plays, he is going to be the favourite. That’s something in my generation that probably never happened. I was probably favourite on clay, but on grass it was Roger and on hard it was Roger and Novak.’
Well, it is this latter statement that has drawn scrutiny, with Djokovic fans pouring in to dispute his claims…
One high-profile fan of the Serbian, Pavvy G, would offer his scathing verdict on Nadal: ‘Nadal is such a bitter clown! I’m so so glad and relieved he never finished with the most slams. He genuinely thinks he was a joint favourite with Djokovic on hard?!’
Then, another fan sought to dispute the grass-court claim, despite Djokovic failing to equal Federer’s Wimbledon title record last Sunday: ‘On grass it was Roger …??? That’s why he lost all 3 Wimbledon finals against Novak …what a salty , classless clown this Clay merchant …’.
No holding back.
How Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have fared on hard courts
Whilst few would debate Nadal’s claim about his clay-court dominance, and thus far Federer does hold the title of the greatest grass-court champion of all time, it is the hard-court comments that are worth debating.
After all, comparing their respective records on that surface tells an interesting story.
Nadal sits alone at the bottom for hard-court win percentage within this trio, winning 77.6% of all matches he played on that surface. Federer’s 83.3% is just narrowly less than Djokovic’s 85.1%, although the Swiss superstar did play far more matches which does skew the results.
Remarkably, the latter two have both won 71 hard-court titles a piece throughout their careers, although 14 of the 37-year-old’s were Grand Slam titles compared to the 11 of his adversary.
Then, to compare Federer and Djokovic’s actual rivalry when the two shared the court, 38 of their 50 meetings actually ended up on hard courts, with the latter leading narrowly, 20-18, and leading again in meetings in Melbourne and New York, 7-4.
It is far tighter than many might imagine, and thus the fierce backlash over Nadal’s comments are not really justified. Federer and Djokovic were neck and neck on hard courts.
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