Nadal Dishes on Federer and Djokovic Rivalries Like By no means Earlier than

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday March 13, 2025

On the “Served with Andy Roddick” podcast, Rafael Nadal joins the previous US Open champion for a particularly candid interview. Rafa talks for an hour with Roddick and the entire interview is nice.

However when the dialog turned to Nadal speaking about his Massive Three rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, ears are certain to perk up. Unsure we’ve ever heard Nadal speak concerning the nuts and bolts of his tennis this manner. As a result of when he performed he was at all times frightened about giving up an excessive amount of of his techniques.

Now that he’s retired he can lastly converse frankly about what he was coping with when dealing with these two giants of the sport in probably the most unimaginable period that males’s tennis has ever seen.

Verify the total episode under:

And listed here are some unimaginable snippets that we’ve transcribed for you:

Nadal on Why Federer-Nadal was extra engaging to followers than Djokovic-Nadal

In my view that’s why the rivalry with Roger was just a little bit extra engaging for the followers, than Novak in opposition to me. Even when I performed extra occasions with Novak, and we performed precisely the identical variety of essential matches, or much more. As a result of with Roger I feel the technique was extra clear.

Nadal on the techniques of Federer vs Nadal

I used to be attempting to do one factor, he was attempting to do one other. Ultimately I used to be attempting to kill his backhand on a regular basis, and even for me, if I had the prospect to play the shot down the road, I used to be saying to myself: Okay, when I’ve to play the shot down the road it’s just for two causes: one, for the winner. The opposite is as a result of I must get him away from that aspect to create extra space once more.

And he was attempting to keep away from that.

He was attempting to play aggressively. Everytime when he was hitting his forehand I felt like I needed to step again, as a result of his forehand, for me, is the very best that I performed in opposition to. It was just a little bit extra like a chess match. All people knew what was going to occur, everyone knew what the technique was going to be. After which when he was enjoying very effectively, he beat me, after I was enjoying effectively I beat him. At the start of my profession, I beat him extra on clay and on hardcourts it had been rather more tough.

Nadal on why 2017 Federer was probably the most tough model of Federer he ever confronted:

Then arrived the second that I used to be capable of beat him on arduous courts a few occasions. After which on the finish of his profession I feel he made a step ahead. He was enjoying rather more aggressively and, for me, he was making a mistake in opposition to me at the start of his profession, by enjoying along with his backhand topspin, which gave me the prospect to maintain hitting forehands in opposition to his backhand. Then on the finish of the profession he began to go in and take extra danger.

For me, actually in 2017, for some time it was the very best degree of his profession – for me. You felt that you simply had been in his fingers. In fact on hardcourts. On clay, it was little bit completely different. He performed very, very aggressively and his serve was so tough to learn for me, it was very tough to foretell what was occurring.

Nadal on what made the Djokovic rivalry completely different:

In opposition to Novak it was just a little bit completely different. We will have a method, however on the finish it’s about… I must play effectively. We don’t play the identical fashion after all, however there was not a transparent technique like I had in opposition to Roger, the place I might harm his backhand. In opposition to Novak I didn’t have that feeling. The sensation was that I would wish to play very effectively for a very long time, and know that I needed to modify issues.

Nadal on why Djokovic had the very best ball management ever

I couldn’t play too many occasions in opposition to his backhand, particularly excessive balls as a result of then he takes the ball faster and places you in a really tough place, so I began to make use of the slice extra in opposition to him, and typically it labored for me effectively, and typically in opposition to Novak it was good for me to play to the center. Don’t give him lots of angles. With Novak once you had been capable of open him, for those who don’t actually create lots of harm, he was capable of open you extra. By way of management – ball management – I feel he’s the very best I ever performed, and that I ever noticed.