Nadal and the differences between playing against Federer and Djokovic: "I felt like I was in their hands"

Carlos Navarro | 11 Mar 2025 | 13.59

Nadal and Federer, in the Swiss's last dance. Source: Getty

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The withdrawal of Rafael Nadal marked a turning point in the world of tennis. It signaled the end of one of the two members of the Big 3, closing a golden chapter in the history of this sport, and served as a kind of prologue to the new era led by Alcaraz and Sinner. Beyond what it has meant for tennis, however, it is also an opportunity for Rafa, now watching from the sidelines, to dare to analyze his own tennis and that of his rivals as he never did before.

His most analytical version came to light in an interview with Andy Roddick on SERVED. Amidst the calm of his new hotel in Punta Cana, the Spaniard felt free to dissect all aspects, especially on a tennis level, surrounding his rivalries with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Why did he feel more uncomfortable against the Serb? Why does he consider his matches against the Swiss more attractive for the viewers? Absolutely unmissable moments of reflection where he also made several impactful statements, especially about Roger in 2017 and about Nole's ball control.

"Our approaches were completely different. With Roger, the strategy was quite clear; in my opinion, this is why the rivalry with Roger was a bit more appealing to fans than that with Novak, even though I played more times against Novak. He tried to do one thing, I tried to do another. I tried to target his backhand all the time; if I thought I had to play cross-court, it was for two reasons, either because I needed a winner or because I needed to move him away from there to create more space. He tried to be more aggressive, he avoided that: every time he hit a forehand, I took a step back, because for me, his forehand is the best I've faced... it was a chess match, no secrets, everyone knew what the strategy was.

When he played very well, he would beat me, when I did, I'd win. At the beginning of my career, I beat him more on clay, then came the moment when I could defeat him on hard court, and towards the end of his career he took a step forward and started playing much more aggressively. To me, he made some mistakes at the beginning of my career against me: he tried to play his backhand with topspin, giving me the chance to keep playing with my forehand on his backhand. In 2017, to me, Roger had moments of his best level ever. Why? You felt like you were at his mercy. On hard court, on clay maybe it was different (laughs). It's true, he didn't play much on clay that year. He played super aggressively, his serve was very tricky to read... it was very precise, but Roger's serve was very hard to read because it was unpredictable, he could change where he sent the ball at the last moment."

HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE YOUR RIVALRY AGAINST NOVAK DJOKOVIC?

"Against Novak, it's a bit different. It was about... we can have a strategy, but ultimately, I knew I needed to play very well all the time. We don't have the same style, that's clear, but there's no clear strategy: against Roger, I'm going to target his backhand, against Novak I don't have that feeling, my sense is that I need to play very well for a long time and know that I'll have to constantly adjust. I can't play high on his backhand, because he takes the ball early and puts you in a tough spot: I started using more slice backhands, which sometimes worked for me, and also I tried playing more through the middle, not giving him too many angles. Against Novak, if you open up the court and don't inflict much damage, you allow him to play as he wants. In terms of ball control, he's the best player I've faced and seen."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Nadal y las diferencias entre jugar contra Federer y Djokovic: "Sentía que estaba en sus manos"