Rafael Nadal opens up on difference between facing Roger Federer versus Novak Djokovic - "It's a little bit more like a chess match"

The members of the Big Three will go down in tennis history as the greatest players of all time, with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic all having left their mark on the sport. However, when it comes to facing each other on the court, Nadal revealed he employed a different approach when facing his two biggest rivals.

Nadal retired at the 2024 Davis Cup, following a lengthy battle with injuries. The Spaniard outlasted his Swiss opponent by two years, as Federer called it a career at the 2022 Laver Cup. However, Djokovic still remains a staple on the ATP Tour, although the Serbian could be close to closing out his illustrious career.

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Facing each rival required a different mindset, says Nadal

The trio have delivered some of the most epic battles in tennis history, with several of their Grand Slam battles listed as match of the year contenders. During an appearance on the Served with Andy Roddick Podcast, Nadal spoke on how he handled each of his two toughest competitors.

"With Roger I think the strategy was more clear," began the Spaniard. "It was a little bit more like a chess match. It's like everybody knows what's going to happen. Everybody knows what the strategy is going to be.
"When he was playing well, he beat me and when I was playing well, I beat him. At the end of his career, he was playing much more aggressive. Honestly, 2017 for a while was the best level of his career.
"I think against Novak, we don't play the same style of course. But it's not the clear strategy that I go against Roger. The feeling is I need to play very well for a long time and know that I have to adjust things.
"I started to use the slice against him, and sometimes it was good to play towards the middle. Don't give him a lot of angles."

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