"He's a helluva player": Marcos Giron highlights one special trait of Rafael Nadal

America’s Marcos Giron has opened up about an interesting trait of the former world number one Spain’s Rafael Nadal. The 38-year-old is often regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as 22 Grand Slam titles.

American tennis player Giron has been recently quoted in a report where he explained that he had a misconception about Nadal that he was ‘full’ of himself. The 31-year-old was of the opinion that the Spaniard was a ‘genuine, nice dude’, and he only got to know this once both players faced off in the first round of the Australian Open in 2022, where the 38-year-old came out on top in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4, 6-2.

"Hard not to be a fan of Federer, Del Potro, Novak. Rafa, I feel like, I wasn't a fan until I played him when I really got to appreciate him - he's a helluva player. Yeah, yeah, I kind of thought he was always full of it, like "Oh no, I respect every guy" but he is like that, he's just a genuine, nice dude. But he's a killer on court. He's a good dude, and I respect the hell out of him, and all of them."

Nadal recently retired from the sport after taking part in the Davis Cup, where he suffered a defeat in his final outing to Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp in straight sets with a score of 6-4, 6-4. Giron is currently taking part in the Delray Beach Open, where he has already booked his place in the quarterfinal after beating Ethan Quinn in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-4. He is now set to face off Miomir Kecmanovic in the last-eight clash, who cemented his place in the final-eight after being awarded a walkover against Yoshihito Nishioka.