Roger Federer 'The Best' But Rafa Is Close, Says Toni Nadal

Toni Nadal again heaped praise on Roger Federer and his nephew Rafael Nadal for their achievements and contributions to the game of tennis over the last two decades.

The Swiss ace turned pro in 1998 and has been playing at the top level of the sport since and was joined on the tour by Nadal in 2001. They have enjoyed a long standing rivalry since their first meeting in 2004, which, has ensured they have pushed the boundaries of the game to new heights.

They have played each other on 38 occasions with the Spaniard holding the upper hand and over 95% of those clashes have been either in the semi-finals or finals of major tournaments. They have a combined 37 Grand Slam titles between them and despite having played for over a decade, they continue to dominate men’s tennis today.

Nadal is ranked number one in the world just 50 points ahead of his long-time rival Federer, and the two have swapped the top rankings between them six times in the last six months. Novak Djokovic is the only one that has challenged their supremacy in the last few years having amassed 12 major titles of his own, but, is still not considered on par with the top ranked duo.

Toni believes Federer is the greatest of all time owing to his achievements but maintains his nephew is close behind. He also feels the lack of consistency from the new generation of players has allowed them to play at a high level this late into their careers.

“Rafael and Roger are two very committed players in the sport,” Toni said, as quoted on Tennis World USA. “Djokovic is very close to them, but in general the new generation wasn't consistent enough to take them over and it allowed them to play at a very high level. Probably Roger is the best in history and Rafael is close too.”

“Both of them were special people for the sport,” he added.

Uncle Toni, as he was fondly known on the ATP Tour, ended his 17-year association as Rafael's head coach at the end of the 2017 season and now focuses much of his attention on the Rafael Nadal Tennis Academy in Mallorca.

However, his attention is currently on Wimbledon, where the world number one has reached the quarter-finals and will take on Juan Martin del Potro on Wednesday. Toni revealed he talks to his nephew every day and is hoping he can go all the way and win his third title at the All England Club.

“I will watch Wimbledon from home, hoping for Rafa's win,” Toni added. “I speak with him every day, he told me that he is doing well.”

“He is not particularly excited, but I think he has everything to go far.”