The partnership of Toni and Rafael Nadal can very well be dubbed as one of the most successful in Tennis with the latter winning 75 Masters title and 16 Grand Slam training under the former in a span of 27 years. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both have very different playing styles and even playing hands. Commenting on this, Toni said that he prefers Federer’s shots over his own nephew’s.
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‘I always liked the shots hit normally, the classic style’, Toni told La Vanguardia. ‘Rafael started to hit like this as a kid. He needed to do it to beat his rivals, who were older and higher. He was 12 years old and was playing against 15-year-olds.
(This game) helped him to win titles. But I never defended it. I like the classic style. If I could choose, I would prefer Rafael to hit like Federer.’
When asked if he will say yes to Djokovic if the Serb approaches him for coaching, he said, ‘It won’t happen,‘
‘But it’s difficult to tell no to Djokovic. He is a number one. If he is an educated person and would not compete with my nephew, I would be delighted to follow him in a tournament. The thing is that the world has changed.’
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He also spoke of Rafa’s dominance int the Monte Carlo Masters and in the clay court in general.
‘It surprises me a little that he has won Monte Carlo so many times.‘
I remember players like (Bjorn) Borg, who dominated on clay like Rafa and won three Monte Carlos and six Roland Garros. For this he surprises me, even Rafa is surprised’.
Asked who can beat his nephew, Toni replied: ‘You always have players who can beat you, but in Monte Carlo he played at a very high level without giving chances to players like (Dominic) Thiem or (Grigor) Dimitrov.
