For any kid growing up in the 21st century, their favorite tennis player would probably be Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, or Novak Djokovic. However, there’s another star who tested them throughout their reign on the ATP Tour. He is the British tennis star, Andy Murray. Although his career took a different route after multiple injuries, people remember him for the rivalries with the big three.

It’s obvious that people who admired any of the three would definitely hate to see him win. One of those kids was the American tennis star, Sebastian Korda. Here’s what he said about Andy Murray.

The reason Korda didn’t like Andy Murray

The son of the 1998 Australian Open champion was a big fan of Rafael Nadal growing up. The Spanish tennis legend is still active and recently won his 22nd Grand Slam title at the 2022 French Open. British tennis star Andy Murray was among the toughest rivals Nadal has played against. Here’s what Korda said after defeating Murray in the quarterfinal of the Gijon Open.

“I always have like a love-hate relationship with him growing up because my favorite players were Nadal and Radek Stepanek and he would always beat up on them sometimes,” Korda said.

Read more: ‘OMG, Shakira Texted Me’- Tennis World Unites to Hilariously Troll Rafael Nadal as Innocently Rare Photo Resurfaces

The former student of Andre Agassi further added, “So I never ‘liked’ him, but I love watching him play, and just getting to practice with him and to play a match against him was really awesome. It was just a special match.”

Murray has not done well after his injury comeback and is still searching for his old form.

The rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray

Both Nadal and Murray are big names in tennis today. While Nadal sits on the pinnacle of Grand Slam titles, Murray wasn’t quite successful in the longer run. However, they have surely played some really entertaining matches. Murray and Nadal met for the first time in the 2007 Australian Open. Here, Nadal defeated Murray in an enthralling five-set encounter.

Nadal went on a winning run and clinched the next four matches against Murray. However, Murray chose the perfect platform to register his first win against the Spaniard. He defeated Nadal in the semifinal of the 2008 US Open.

WATCH THE STORY: Rafael Nadal shows off true class after Wimbledon championships withdrawal as he thanks all the BTS employees on camera

If we look at the overall records, Nadal has dominated Murray and has a lead of 17-7. However, both of them are still active and it will be interesting to see how they fare if slated against each other in the near future.