“Hardly Ever Gets Ruffled Unlike Djokovic”: Cricket Legend Calls Rafael Nadal Greatest of Them All

By the time 2020 ends, it is starting to look like Rafael Nadal will even make just about everybody his fan. From footballers to cricketers, from politicians to bureaucrats, everyone has been appreciating Rafa and calling him the best. Recently, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar heaped huge praise on the 34-year-old Spaniard.

Gavaskar on Rafael Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic

Gavaskar, who was the first player to score 10,000 runs in test match cricket, praised Nadal for his superb temperament during the French Open 2020. The former Indian captain also revealed why he would always choose over World No.1 Novak Djokovic.

“He is level with Roger Federer with 20 majors under his belt and to many in the tennis world, he is already the greatest of them all… What shines through apart from his talent is his temperament. He hardly ever gets ruffled unlike Djokovic and so has a better grip on his game. He doesn’t let other factors disturb his mental equilibrium,” wrote Gavaskar in an article.

Gavaskar didn’t just stop here and went on to disclose what was so special about Nadal. He also believes that Rafa will continue to win the titles in the coming years as well.

“It’s the hardest surface to play on. A player has to be incredibly fit to keep playing five-setters pretty much every day. Yet Rafa finds something extra that takes him to the title year after year… He still has a few years left and with his superb fitness he could win majors for the next couple of years too,” added Gavaskar.

Sunil Gavaskar compares IPL team Chennai Super Kings to the ‘Big Three’

There have always been comparisons between the best players from different sports. Fans often compare Lionel Messi to Roger Federer and Virat Kohli to Cristiano Ronaldo because of the impact they have had on their respective sports. However, Gavaskar did something unique and compared the ‘Big Three’ to an IPL team, Chennai Super Kings.

The reason for his comparison was the consistency of the team in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Gavaskar said that that the team has always reached the play-offs (semi-finals) of the IPL in every edition, just like the ‘Big Three’ have in Grand Slams.

“Chennai’s consistent performance over the years may bring forth comparison with the Big Three in the tennis world. Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal have featured in the semis if not the finals of virtually all the majors over the last 10 years or so. The ‘Big Three’ have been doing it quite easily despite a rash of young talent which seems to freeze in the big-ticket major events,” wrote Gavaskar.

The Super Kings have none other than MS Dhoni as its captain. Dhoni has also led the team to win three IPL trophies and was the captain of the Indian cricket team when India won the Cricket World Cup in 2011. The 39-year-old Dhoni recently said goodbye to International cricket and will now be playing only in the IPL.