{"id":23853,"date":"2025-02-06T07:40:42","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T07:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=23853"},"modified":"2025-02-06T07:40:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-06T07:40:42","slug":"rafael-nadal-makes-physically-harmed-admission-about-novak-djokovic-roger-federer-rivalries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=23853","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal makes\u00a0‘physically harmed’ admission about\u00a0Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer rivalries"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Rafael<\/figure>\n

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer have enjoyed great rivalries<\/p>\n

Rafael Nadal has spoken candidly about the challenges of his rivalries with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer and asserted that each of the trio \u201cpushed ourselves to the limit in every sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 38-year-old Spaniard brought the curtain down on his incredible 23-year career last November at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. Federer, 43, retired in 2022, while Djokovic, 37, is still a major contender.<\/p>\n

The competition between Nadal, Federer and Djokovic transcended tennis, with the\u00a0rivalries between the three icons considered to be some of the greatest in the history of any sport.<\/p>\n

Nadal faced Djokovic a men\u2019s Open Era record of 60 times \u2014 from 2006 to 2024 \u2014 with the Serbian holding a 31-29 edge. The duo contested 18 matches at majors, with Nadal winning 11.<\/p>\n

The Spaniard amassed a 24-16 record from his 40 encounters with Federer, which were played across a 15-year period between 2004 and 2019. The \u2018King of Clay\u2019 won 10 of his 14 Grand Slam matches with the Swiss.<\/p>\n

Djokovic, Nadal and Federer are the only men to win 20 Grand Slam titles, with the trio sitting on 24, 22 and 20 respectively.<\/p>\n

ATP Tennis News<\/h2>\n

\u2018Most frustrating\u2019 part of facing Rafael Nadal at French Open revealed by former world No 3<\/p>\n

Tim Henman predicts where Novak Djokovic is most likely to win his 25th Grand Slam<\/p>\n

Speaking at Mundo Deportivo\u2019s Gran Gala, where Nadal was awarded the\u00a0Trofeo Extraordinario, the legendary Mallorcan was asked which of his rivals made life most difficult for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer; it\u2019s difficult to choose,\u201d the former world No 1 said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy career is linked to both of them, the three of us have pushed each other to be better.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true that we\u2019ve taken things from each other, but it\u2019s fair to say that one of us, without the other two, wouldn\u2019t have reached the numbers that the three of us have achieved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some ways, we have pushed ourselves to the limit in every sense. Physically this has harmed us quite a bit, but on a tennis and mental level it has taken us to the next level of demand and that is why we have been able to have such a long career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nadal \u2013 who was particularly plagued by injuries in the latter stage of his career \u2013 revealed, though, that he has felt good physically since retiring.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the moment, I\u2019m able to live with very little pain, and this is very important for me,\u201d Nadal explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting up and going down the stairs normally is a very important step in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m adapting to a new facet of my life. The last few years of my career were difficult and that helps me not miss it so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cI retired only three months ago, not a year ago, and I can\u2019t say it with total clarity, but at the moment I\u2019m fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ NEXT:\u00a0The 8 men with the most wins over a world No 1: Rafael Nadal with 23
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Rafael Nadal has spoken candidly about the challenges of his rivalries with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer and asserted that each of the trio “pushed ourselves to the limit in every sense.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23854,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nRafael Nadal makes\u00a0'physically harmed' admission about\u00a0Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer rivalries - 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=23853\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rafael Nadal makes\u00a0'physically harmed' admission about\u00a0Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer rivalries - 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