Toni Nadal has described Roger Federer as the measure of all things in tennis. However, his nephew Rafael Nadal is still able to challenge the “GOAT”status of the Swiss.
The tone of voice can change so quickly. It’s only a month ago that Uncle Toni caused a sensation with a battle announcement to Roger Federer:”Rafael will reach the 19 majors,”the successful coach tinted after the US Open triumph of his protégé.
In the final of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai, however, Team Nadal suffered a severe defeat – it was already the fourth time this season against the Swiss.
Uncle Toni showed himself to be a fair loser after all,”Roger is on a fantastic level. He is now playing more aggressively than he did a few years ago, which makes it much more difficult to win against him on hard courts. For me, he is the best player,”said the 56-year-old in an interview with Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.
But the hymns of praise were far from over:”I know only a few athletes who have dominated their sport as Roger has dominated tennis. Federer is the best player in history for me.”
At the moment, there is no doubt that Federer is the “GOAT”, but if he stops in a few years and Rafa continues to win major, we will have to talk about the GOAT question again,”Uncle Toni added.