Rafael Nadal recently offered his thoughts on the influence that the “Big 3” had on Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Iga Swiatek through their three-way rivalry. The Spaniard believes that while he viewed Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as cut-throat competition on the court, their off-court friendliness towards each other taught the next generation of champions a key lesson in humility.
Nadal retired from pro tennis at last year’s Davis Cup Finals after spending 17 years at the highest echelon of the ATP Tour. With the 22-time Major winner’s retirement, two-thirds of the famed Big 3 is now out of commission, with Djokovic also currently being at the door. The trio has since given up the mantle to their male successors, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, both of whom have won three of the last five Majors.
Against that background, Rafael Nadal recently made an appearance on the latest episode of Andy Roddick’s podcast, “Served with Andy Roddick”, to speak in depth about how the convivial nature of his respective storylines with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic across multiple eras shaped not only the Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry but Iga Swiatek’s humble attitude, as well.
“I don’t know, I think we as rivals… I think we show the world that we can be the biggest rivals, but at the same time we can be, I don’t say best friends, but we can have a good personal relationship,” Rafael Nadal said on the Served with Andy Roddick podcast (from 57:11 onwards). “I think that shows a positive example to the next generation, I’m proud of that.”
The 38-year-old then heaped rich praise on the “positive values” shared by Alcaraz, Sinner, and Swiatek.
“And I think Carlos is a great kid, great guy with a very good family behind him, with positive values,” he added (58:22). “They are humble, they are good persons. That’s why I think Carlos is having this, because at the end, the values you receive at home, the way that you are educated [is] the way that you show up, no? I see the same with Iga, I think Jannik is not much show off, a good guy, focus on what he’s doing.”
Rafael Nadal further reiterated during the interaction with Andy Roddick that the Big 3 had shown the upcoming tennis players that having healthy competition was crucial for their improvement.
Rafael Nadal on his rivalries with Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic: “We don’t fight against each other, we respect each other”
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at Laver Cup 2022 | Image Source: Getty
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at Laver Cup 2022 | Image Source: Getty
The 22-time Major winner insisted that his respective rivalries with the Swiss maestro and the Serb set an example for the rest of the tennis pros, teaching them that they didn’t need to “hate their opponents” to motivate themselves. According to the Spaniard, this would help them avoid the pitfalls of toxicity and focus on their own growth.
“We don’t fight against each other, we respect each other, and I think that helps to this new generation to understand that you don’t need to ‘hate’ the opponents,” Nadal said on Roddick’s podcast (from 57:54 onwards). “You can respect, you can appreciate the opponent, because at the end they are important part of your life. You don’t need to hate the opponents to give your best, that’s what I think we showed the world.”
For academic purposes, Nadal retired with a 25-16 winning head-to-head record against Federer and a narrowly losing record of 29-31 against Djokovic.
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