Rafael Nadal
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are currently ranked world number one and two respectively. In this picture, Roger Federer of Switzerland with Rafael Nadal of Spain pose with their trophy after the Men's singles final match on day eight of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium on Oct. 15, 2017, in Shanghai, China. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Rafael Nadal chose Roger Federer’s forehand as the best in tennis at the moment but only after he was forced to choose one after initially suggesting different players have better forehands than the Swiss ace on different surfaces.

Federer has won titles on all surfaces during his career but he has been more dominant on grass and hard courts. Of his 97 ATP singles titles, the Swiss tennis legend has won just 10 of them on clay with the rest coming on his preferred hard or grass courts.

Nadal, on the other hand, has been a dominant force on clay throughout his career, winning 56 of his 77 titles on the red dirt. He has won the French Open an unprecedented 10 times, while also winning the Masters Series event in Monte Carlo and the Barcelona Open on 11 occasions.

The Spaniard, who is currently playing the Italian Open in Rome, was asked about the player that has the best forehand in the game. He was at pain to decide one that was better than the rest and revealed different surfaces have different contenders.

Nadal believes his forehand is better than Federer’s on clay, but the Swiss ace trumps him on hard and grass courts. But the world number two also threw in Argentine star Juan Martin del Potro’s name in the mix suggesting his forehand on hard courts could be one of the best.

However, the 16-time men’s singles Grand Slam champion was pushed to choose one over the rest and it was then that he chose his long-time rival Federer’s as, generally, the best in the game at the moment.

“It's difficult,” Nadal said when asked to choose the best forehand in tennis, as quoted by Tennis World USA. “At the end, I don't think all of the forehands are as good. I think that maybe my forehand is better than (Roger) Federer's on clay, and hard court or grass I think that his forehand is better than mine of course.”

“Well, del Potro's forehand perhaps on hard court, his forehand is better. Here on clay, I don't know. I don't know how to answer you. If I were to choose one in general, I would choose Federer's forehand. This is the reality.”

Nadal and Federer, meanwhile, are battling for top spot in the ATP men’s singles ranking. The top spot has been swinging between the two players since the start of the year with the Swiss star currently on top of the pile.

Federer took over from Nadal in February, but his stay at the top was short lived after he failed to defend his titles at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters Series events. Nadal, despite not playing for more than two months returned to world number one.

The 36-year-old then decided to skip the entirety of the clay court season for the second consecutive year, while Nadal had to defend 4,680-points on his favorite surface. Nadal's loss in the quarter-finals at the Madrid Open saw Federer return to the top yet again.

The Spaniard now has a chance to again return to world number one if he wins the ongoing Italian Open. He will be in action in the round of 16 against Denis Shapovalov on Thursday.

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