Roger Federer has the most annoying game to face, says Mathieu
Paul-Henri Mathieu is one of the few players who competed almost at the same level against Rafael Nadal. In the French Open 2005 third round, the local hero lost to the Spaniard in four sets, 5/7, 6/4, 6/4, 6/4 after four hours and 53 minutes. "He put such a physical, mental intensity", said Mathieu. "As soon as I dropped focus, he used it. The most difficult, annoying games was Federer's. He had a kind of style that I did not like to play, with a lot of rhythm changes. On grass, it was even more complicated. They are two players out of the ordinary. We are lucky and unlucky to have had them in our career. We may have done better... I played them a lot of times, like the other players.'
Asked if lower-ranked players really believe to be capable to defeat the Big 3 - Federer, Nadal, Djokovic - Mathieu added: 'Yes we do. Before the match, we know there is a 95% chance of losing. But the 5% of chances, we play them until the end. They have such mental strength in relation to their career, their past results. It's not easy to go on court against a legend of your sport, that pushes the limits of all your records. We believe at it but the chance is a small one. Some players play hard, someone instead gives up quickly. But they are two amazing athletes like Michael Jordan before or LeBron James maybe today. We had them at the same time."
ALSO READ: Djokovic would beat Roger Federer in Australian Open final - Evert
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2S8F39f
No comments