Toni Nadal believes that there is little to debate over who is currently the better player out of Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev.
Nadal has been linked with coaching Zverev before, having previously spent time with the German.
However, that is yet to come to fruition for Zverev, who lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open semifinals this year.
Djokovic also lost to Alcaraz after reaching the Australian Open final, which was watched by Rafael Nadal on Rod Laver Arena.
Now Rafael Nadal’s uncle and former coach, Toni Nadal, has stated who he thinks is currently the better player out of Djokovic and Zverev.
Toni Nadal believes Alexander Zverev is better than Novak Djokovic right now
In the latest update of the ATP rankings, Djokovic actually overtook Zverev as the new world number three.
However, Toni Nadal has claimed that Zverev is actually a better player than Djokovic right now, despite claiming that the German has a ‘mental problem’ after his five set defeat to Alcaraz in the Australian Open semifinals.
“Zverev, yes, I said it, I don’t know if you remember… I said, ‘Well, if Zverev plays well’,” Nadal told Radio Estadio when asked about who could challenge Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. “But Zverev has a mental problem. He has an obsession with winning.
“Zverev had the match, he had the chance to win the second set, and when he served to win, he got broken. And his best shot is his serve. He comes back to win the match in the fifth, when he serves to close out the match and again… fails at that moment.
“So he’s a dangerous rival and, for me, he’s clearly better than Djokovic is today, but he lacks… the… if he, if Zverev had won that match today, he probably would have won the final too. It would change him because it gives you extra confidence and takes away the pressure he has to win a Grand Slam.”
Has Alexander Zverev just blown his last chance to win a Grand Slam?
Toni Nadal suggests if he thinks any player will be able to compete with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tournament where Alcaraz has not played Jannik Sinner in the final, but they still share the last eight consecutive major titles.
There has been a lot of discussion about who could challenge Alcaraz and Sinner, with young stars including Joao Fonseca mentioned in this conversation, but Nadal does not appear to buy into this conversation.
“Today, I don’t see a Fonseca or a [Jakub] Mensik who can compete with Carlos in a year or two,” added Nadal. “I don’t know if one will appear soon, but at the moment I don’t know of any young players aged 18, 19 or 17 who are already showing signs of being a number one.
“Of course, in the end, Carlos is competing against Sinner, who is very good; Zverev, let’s see how today’s result affects him; and then the others, who seemed like they should be there, have disappeared: [Andrey] Rublev, [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, [Daniil] Medvedev.”
Who will join Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in a new ‘big three’?
This does not cast a good light on men’s tennis, which has already been hampered by the likes of Jack Draper, Holger Rune and Arthur Fils out of action due to long-term injuries.
While he believes that his compatriot is by far the best player on the ATP Tour right now, Nadal was actually not happy with Alcaraz for something he did after beating Djokovic in the Australian Open final.
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