Toni Nadal Says Djokovic is a better player than his nephew!

[vernonbc]

Throughout their careers, Toni has praised Federer to the extreme, calling him a better player than Nadal, and now he's doing it with Djokovic.
Are people here that naive? :lol: This strategy clearly works best for Rafa, because it pumps him up to the brink.

I think the strategy worked well when Rafa was a youngster. I think Rafa pays no attention at all to the silly stuff Toni says to the press to get them all riled up nowadays.

i think thats the honest truth. Djokovic and Federer are way more talented than Nadal.

All three are extremely talented in different ways, not necessarily one moreso than t

 

[Djokovic2011]

All three are extremely talented in different ways, not necessarily one moreso than t

:shock: Did I just see you pay a compliment to both Federer and Novak vernonbc? Are you feeling alright today?!

 

[objectivity]

:shock: Did I just see you pay a compliment to both Federer and Novak vernonbc? Are you feeling alright today?!

erm he always praises anyone who is great. in fact, all the nadal fans on this forum always praises everybody who is objectively good, while still staying fans of nadal. nothing extraordinary, just another day in the rafa camp.

 

[kandamrgam]

This is one of those threads where everyone has a point, and they all contradict merely on how one defines "better". One can see better in many ways.

1. One who wins the biggest prizes - Nadal has the edge here.

2. One who wins more often than not - Djoker has the edge here.

3. One who exhibits better tennis skills. Even this is a little subjective.

a. For some, tennis skills should be about shot making skills, excluding mentality and physicality the sport demands - Djoker has the edge here.

b. For some others, tennis skill is the whole package including mental and physical edge - Nadal has the lead here.

I'm one of those guys who defines "better" as in 2. and 3.a. Hence my vote goes to Djokovic. Nadal's better win% has significant clay bias. This is how their win% on different surfaces look like during their prime years:

Nadal, 2007-2014
Grass: 81%
Hard: 80%
Clay: 95%

Djokovic, 2008-2014
Grass: 83%
Hard: 85%
Clay: 82%

Djokovic leads on 2 of the 3 surfaces and has no weakness as much as Nadal on hard. I know I have counted a year more for Nadal than Djokovic, but you also have to keep in mind that Djoker often plays full season while Nadal succumbs to injury. Definitely the player who plays more should get the advantage here.

Nadal is unbelievable though. The mental aspect of the sport shouldn't be underrated. The guy has just 3 weapons - FH, legs, mentality. It's phenomenal what he has achieved with these.

 

[dominikk1985]

yes novak is very close to nadal.

novak might very well end up with the player with most masters 1000 in history.

the biggest knock against him is his underachieving in slams, specifically in slam finals. he had some nice final wins of course but he also lost some finals and semis against a declining fed and increasingly injury prone nadal that he should not have lost (most notably the SF against fed FO11 and W12) and then of course he lost two big finals against murray (not to mention the two USO against nadal on a surface that should suit him much better than nadal).

had he performed in the slams like in the masters he could have 10 or 11 slams now.

 

[Backspin1183]

Proud fan of Rafael Nadal - the best player in the world for the past eight years.

 

[okdude1992]

what is wrong with being humble? this is the problem with all you presumably americans. you just love beating on your chest declaring @I AM THE GREATEST!!! humility is a virtue but in you guys' eyes, its an evil. sigh.

The generalization about Americans is stupid and unnecessary. Being humble is fantastic. I like that about Nadal. But you must admit, that he and his camp do play up the underdog card a bit much. The guy has won 14 slams, and the career slam. He's probably top 5 all time on many lists. Yet clearly he prefers being the hunter and not the hunted. This is all a psychological game

Also weren't you the one who claimed Nadal was "literally" like a 5.0 talent wise, winning by sheer will? Clearly your view of Rafa is pretty unrealistic to say it nicely.