Rafael Nadal retired at the end of 2024. In a podcast, the Spaniard talks about his magnificent career - and reveals the tactics he used on court against Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
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- Rafael Nadal, one of the big three, retired from the world tennis stage at the end of 2024. After 22 Grand Slam titles, among others, the Spaniard ended his career at the age of 38.
- In a conversation with Andy Roddick, Nadal spoke about his successes. Of course, the two long-time rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic were also discussed.
"Served with Andy Roddick" is the name of the podcast hosted by the former world number 1. The US American recently had a very special guest: tennis legend Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard spoke at length about his career - and his long-standing rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner explained why, in his view, "the rivalry with Roger was a little more attractive to the fans than the one with Novak". Nadal and Djokovic have dueled more often (60 times - Nadal vs. Federer only 40 matches).
"The strategy against Roger was clear," Nadal explains and adds: "I tried to do one thing, he tried to do the other." What exactly did that look like? "I tried to play his backhand the whole time - even when I had the chance to play down the line. So I always said to myself: 'Okay, if I have to play it long, then only for two reasons: Either I'm going for the winner or I want to get it away from the other side to give me more space again.'"
"He tried to avoid that. He tried to play more aggressively. When he hit a forehand, I felt like I had to take a step back. For me, his forehand is the best I've ever played against," Nadal noted.
Federer had gained ground towards the end of his career
It was like a little game of chess, where everyone knew what was going to happen and there were no secrets, is how Nadal described the starting position against the Swiss.
The winner was always the one who played better. Of course, clay suited him, whereas it was more difficult for him on hard courts at the beginning, explains the 38-year-old.
But Federer has been able to raise his level over the course of his career, says Nadal. Federer still had "a few small mistakes" at the beginning, for example. "He tried to play top spin with his backhand. That gave me the chance to play my forehand against his backhand," Nadal reveals the tactical flaws.
"At the end of his career, he took a step forward - he played much more aggressively on the backhand side. At the end of his career, he started to take more risks. In 2017, he showed the best level of his career for a while - you could feel that he was in control." Nadal also admits that the Swiss' serve was "so difficult to read".
At the 2017 Australian Open, Federer beat Nadal in five sets in an epic final as world number 17 after a six-month break due to knee surgery to win his first Grand Slam title after four and a half years without a major triumph.
No fixed strategy against Djokovic
In matches against Djokovic, you could have had a strategy, but ultimately you had to adapt anyway and show very good tennis over a long period of time, explained Nadal.
The Serb simply took high balls earlier, for example, so he used the slice more or sometimes played through the middle to avoid offering Djokovic more angles, says Nadal.
"If you could open up the court against Novak, you had to do a lot of damage. If you couldn't do that, he could open you up more in return," Nadal sums up and adds: "In terms of ball control, he was the best I've ever played against."
