Toni Nadal: 'Federer, Nadal, Djokovic's commitment was total'
In an interview to Le Monde, the Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni was asked if he misses the Tour as he stopped working with his nephew at the end of the 2017 season. "I do not regret my decision. I came to a point where I felt my job was not necessary with Rafael anymore, so I decided to stop. I feel the same pleasure in being here caring of the younger guys than when I was in the French Open, Melbourne or elsewhere. But now I am more useful to the Academy", said Toni.
On how different the Big Three are than the previous legends, Toni added: "There are no big differences in terms of technique, they changed the game but what made Djokovic, Rafael, Federer and others stand out is that they are ready to do more. Not just to promote the sport with media, but especially in terms of commitment. Their commitment is total, that's why they won more than others. They cared about all the surfaces. I do not know if for Pete Sampras, who was a grass and hard-courts Specialist, French Open had the same importance. Rafael is definitely a clay-court player but Wimbledon has always been one of his priorities. You never had in tennis such three amazing players in the same time. Together they won 52 Grand Slams. Sampras (14) Agassi (8) and Becker (6) or Edberg (6), for example, won 34. Taking Jimmy Connors (8), John McEnroe (7) and Bjorn Borg (11), they 26. That's an amazing and a bigger generation."
Toni finally criticized the younger players: "Now players are less committed. The new generation plays well one day, the day after they have a bad day. That explains why they are inconsistent, they do not think anymore. Today you hit a serve, without thinking, boom."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2UKP0vO
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