As it is said, it takes a wise man to learn from his mistakes. But an even wiser man to learn from others. And, even after winning 92 titles including 22 Grand Slam triumphs, Rafael Nadal‘s hunger to make a comeback at the top level yet again defines his character. What drives him even at the age of 37? His hunger and desire to learn and improve have been showcased several times and Jill Craybas recently shared a similar incident on a recent episode of the ‘ATP Tennis Radio Podcast.

Jill Craybas, the 49-year-old American former professional tennis player shares how young Rafael Nadal watched his rival Roger Federer, aiming to improve his own performance on grass. Craybas has competed in 45 consecutive Grand Slam tournament’s main draws from 2000 to 2011. However, her best result came in 2015 at Wimbledon when she reached the fourth round of the championship defeating the likes of Serena Williams. Now, she shares a story that took place on a similar surface about the desire of Nadal to learn from the best in business.

Former American tennis player remembers Rafael Nadal pulling up a chair to watch Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal’s favorite has always been the clay courts and Roger Federer’s grass. Craybas shared the story of how young Nadal who had only won a single Wimbledon title till then, was hell-bent on improving his performance on grass courts. He wanted to win the Wimbledon and eventually, he did win it multiple times. But to learn from his biggest rival is what makes the story more astonishing. Here’s what Jill Craybas said.

“A story that impressed me about Nadal is, you know, he understood that he was the best on the clay. And he understood he had to make some adjustments to the other surfaces, which he did phenomenally well. But I remember one year at Wimbledon, he hadn’t won a Wimbledon title, he knew it wasn’t his best surface.” said Craybas.

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Revealing the powerful moment, she added, “He just picked up a chair and sat right in front of the practice court watching Federer. And just sat there watching Federer’s practice. Trying to learn how to play on the grass surface to get better.”

She also shed light on how the Big Three pushed each other to become the best in the world. “And, you know, just having that, I mean, obviously he has that awareness & understanding, but just wanting to learn from the best. And I think that’s what those three guys did so well. They all had different styles which I think pushed them to be better players.”

Highlighting the main reason behind the success of the big three, she added, “And I think they all had an understanding & awareness of that. But to be at the top of the game like Nadal & to be aware, I need to learn from Federer, one of his biggest rivals. To me, that’s incredible having that mentality.”

The rivalry between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer is considered one of the greatest rivalries in the history of the sport. During their primes, both of them used to put everything on the lines to outclass the other. The Clay court was considered Roger Federer’s weakest surface. And, he even had to hire the Spanish coach, Jose Higueras to help him through his woes on clay courts. Apart from their illustrious careers, their desire to learn and improve is what gave birth to the biggest rivalry in tennis.

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The epic rivalry between Nadal and Federer

Both of them played each other 40 times in their career. Out of those 40, Nadal has won it 24 times with a clear-cut margin of 14-10 in finals. Rafael Nadal leads it on clay by 14-2 while Roger Federer leads the race on grass with a 3-1 margin. They have contested every final match of the French Open and Wimbledon from 2006 to 2008. However, the 2008 final at Wimbledon is marked as the greatest match ever by several experts of the game.

It was in the 2008 Wimbledon finals when the ‘King of Clay’ broke all the shackles and ended the 41-match winning streak of the Swiss Maestro at the Championship. Nadal outclassed Federer in a grueling 4 hours and 48 minutes encounter.

Depriving Federer of his 6th consecutive Wimbledon title, Nadal showcased his champion mindset. However, Both of them share some brilliant and memorable moments on the court and which one is your favorite?

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