The Grand Slam champion who said Rafael Nadal’s tennis was ‘more fun’ than Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer

Mats Wilander said Rafael Nadal was ‘more fun’ to watch than Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer

Like Nadal, Wilander is one of the most decorated players in the history of the French Open.

After watching Nadal beat Casper Ruud to win a record 14th title in Paris, Wilander spoke to L’Equipe and admitted that he preferred watching the Spaniard compared to the two other members of ‘the big three’.

“The older I get, the more I enjoy watching him play,” Wilander said in 2022. “We see that he trusts his variations more than when he was 22 or 23 years old. I find his tennis more fun than Roger’s or Novak’s.

“With Roger, everything seems easy. It’s simple and aesthetic. Rafa is different: his true personality arises when the racquet hits the ball. Of course, the beginning and the end of the motion are not as fluid as with Roger. But the contact with the ball is so pure, his touch on the ball is so extraordinary that I am blown away.

“I’ve always loved its intensity and emotional involvement. But before, there was a repetitive aspect to his game. We knew exactly how he was going to win the point. And we knew he would win 6-2 6-2 6-2. Now he creates uncertainty: what will he do on the next move? It’s like watching Federer when he was at his best. I no longer want to commentate on his matches, I just want to watch him play.”

Rafael Nadal’s record vs Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer

At the time of Wilander making these comments, Nadal led both Djokovic and Federer in terms of the number of Grand Slam titles won.

However, since then Djokovic has overtaken Nadal and is the only player in the Open Era to have won 24 Grand Slam titles.

Djokovic also leads both Nadal and Federer in terms of the number of weeks as world number one, Masters 1000 titles and titles won at the ATP Finals.

Although Djokovic won Olympic gold in Paris last year, Nadal is the only player of ‘the big three’ to have two Olympic gold medals.

However, in terms of their head-to-heads, Djokovic leads both Nadal and Federer.