‘I miss him’ Rafael Nadal picks Roger Federer over Novak Djokovic as his biggest rival

Rafael Nadal won their third round match against Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets beating the Italian 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. It was Nadal’s most clinical performance in his three games at SW19. Nadal pursues the Grand Slam of the calendar at Wimbledon 2022 while Novak Djokovic looking to defend their title for the third year in a row. The two are on a collision course as they are set to meet in what would be a cracker of a match and a big showdown to see which of the two legends will come out on top.

This Wimbledon is different, quite different for a number of reasons, including the banning of Russian and Belarusian players. It is also the first Wimbledon in more than two decades where Roger Federer, the eight-time Wimbledon champion and the most successful player on grass does not play. Nadal and Federer’s rivalry has been one for ages and the two have participated in many legendary battles in all Grand Slam tournaments. Federer has been absent from the tour since his knee surgery after Wimbledon 2021.

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Rafael Nadal thinks Roger Federer misses every event, not just Wimbledon.

Although Nadal has a big rivalry with Djokovic, which is actually more pronounced than his rivalry with Roger, Nadal feels that Federer was his biggest rival. During the post-match press conference after the third round, Nadal said: “Well, it’s a negative thing, but life is the circle of life, you know. Time passes, and the watch, the clock never stops. These kinds of things we have to get used to.

“But in a personal way, of course, my personal relationship with Roger has always been great, and probably my biggest rival. At the same time, all the things that we shared together on the court are something hard to describe, the emotions, all the things. And of course I personally miss him on the tennis tour, and of course he misses tennis, the tournaments, the fans, everyone.

Nadal concluded that while Wimbledon may be Roger’s biggest stage, he is missing at every event. He said: “I think Roger Federer is important in every tournament. Not just Wimbledon. He is a player we miss in all tennis events, no doubt.