'Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic are above the others' - Coach
In an interview to El Independiente Jose Higueras praised the Big Three dominance. "(Roger) Federer, (Rafael) Nadal and (Novak) Djokovic are above the others. I am sure I will not see another rivalry like this and I do not know if we will see again two players like Roger and Rafa who influence so much the rest of tennis players for their gamestyle. Champions would have been champions in any era, what marks a champion is usually the character and not so much the tennis quality, and the best thing about this kind of players was the ability to adapt."
Higueras also praised Bjorn Borg: "With his gamestyle, winning Paris six times and after just one month winning in Wimbledon is an unrepeatable achievement for me (he did it in 1978, 1979 and 1980). Because in the past the All England Club courts were so fast, four times quicker than now, and the guys served and volleyed, while in Paris the clay was so slow. You need to have a great mentality for it, it's not just a tennis matter and I think you do not give credit to it as much as you should."
In 1973 Higueras faced the then 16-year-old Bjorn Borg. "When I saw him so young, he did not stand out for his technique but for his mental strength. I only saw it in Rafa Nadal. They are the strongest two tennis players, well I would say sportsmen in general, mentally."
At the time Higueras also faced Ivan Lendl, Jimmy Connors, Guillermo Vilas, John McEnroe, Mats Wilander and Orantes, just to mention someone. "In these years the top 10 featured amazing players, all of them were Grand Slam winners."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2Iaubnu
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