{"id":10644,"date":"2024-12-14T03:12:50","date_gmt":"2024-12-14T03:12:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=10644"},"modified":"2024-12-14T03:12:50","modified_gmt":"2024-12-14T03:12:50","slug":"rafael-nadal-has-more-kindness-and-sympathy-than-roger-federer-novak-djokovic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=10644","title":{"rendered":"‘Rafael Nadal has more kindness and sympathy than Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/header>\n
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\"'Rafael<\/figure>\n

Rafael Nadal retired from tennis at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.<\/p>\n

Rafael Nadal has more \u201ckindness and sympathy\u201d than both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, according to the president of the Italian Tennis Federation.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nadal called time on his career at the Davis Cup last month, following a two-decade-long career which saw him win 22 Grand Slam singles titles and spend 209 weeks as the world No 1.<\/p>\n

The Spaniard was a key factor in what is widely recognised as the golden era of the men\u2019s game, alongside chief rivals Federer and Djokovic.<\/p>\n

Nadal played Djokovic a historic 60 times and also had 40 meetings with Djokovic, with the trio combining to sweep 66 Grand Slam titles across a 20-year span.<\/p>\n

The debate will rage on who is the greatest male player of all time, but Italian Tennis Federation president Angelo Binaghi believes there is no doubt that Nadal was the best of the trio off-court.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Ubitennis, former pro player Binaghi described Nadal as a \u201ctrue gentleman,\u201d who showed more \u201ckindness\u201d than Federer.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe best of all, by far, especially off the court.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 24 years I have crossed paths with him many times, between one tournament and another. And Nadal is truly a special tennis player: a true gentleman, polite, beloved by the fans, someone who has given so much to tennis and has inspired generations to be passionate about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion even more than Federer, who in person, in my experience, does not have the same kindness and sympathy as Nadal.\u201d<\/p>\n

ATP Tour News<\/h2>\n

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Novak Djokovic\u2019s plan for 2025 may be flawed, claims former Wimbledon champion<\/p>\n

Nadal\u2019s career achievements have been eclipsed by Djokovic, who has won 24 Grand Slam titles and has spent a record 428 weeks as world No 1.<\/p>\n

But, while saying Djokovic was the \u201cbest\u201d player, Binaghi also believes the Serbian cannot match Nadal\u2019s \u201chuman depth\u201d.<\/p>\n

Binaghi added: \u201cAnd the same goes for Djokovic: certainly the best tennis player in the world, but who in my opinion does not have the sporting and human depth of Nadal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nadal\u2019s retirement came following Spain\u2019s Davis Cup quarter-final defeat to The Netherlands in Malaga, with the 38-year-old beaten 6-4, 6-4 in his final match by Botic van de Zandschulp.<\/p>\n

Speaking on court following Spain\u2019s exit, the 22-time major winner claimed he had been \u201cvery lucky\u201d to have had the success he achieved across his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people work hard. A lot of people try their best every single day. I have been very lucky,\u201d said Nadal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just a kid who followed his dreams and worked as hard as possible to get where I am today. I achieved my dreams and more than I ever thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read Next<\/strong>:\u00a0The 5 men with the most consecutive weeks as ATP world No 1 \u2013 Roger Federer with 237, Novak Djokovic 4th<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rafael Nadal showed more “kindness and sympathy” than his main rivals, according to a former ATP Tour pro.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10645,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\n'Rafael Nadal has more kindness and sympathy than Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic' - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=10644\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'Rafael Nadal has more kindness and sympathy than Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic' - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rafael Nadal showed more "kindness and sympathy" than his main rivals, according to a former ATP Tour pro.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=10644\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-14T03:12:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/1-65.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"491\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"624\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Admin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=10644\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=10644\",\"name\":\"'Rafael Nadal has more kindness and sympathy than Roger Federer & Novak Djokovic' - 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