Ferrer: "Rafael Nadal is better than Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic under pressure"

At the Australian Open 2020, Rafael Nadal stopped in the quarterfinals against Dominic Thiem, suffering his 200th defeat in his career, after eliminating, in order, Hugo Dellien, Federico Delbonis, Pablo Carreño Busta and Nick Kyrgios. On 3 February, he fell to second place in the ATP ranking, giving primacy to Novak Đoković, winner in Melbourne.

In a recent interview, his compatriot and friend David Ferrer discussed Nadal's ability to play under pressure: "He means a lot to tennis," Ferrer told Sport360. "He has a different mind to any sportsman that I've seen in my life. In important moments, he holds the pressure better than other players.

He impresses me every year. I watch him on TV or play against him and he is always improving his game - his serve, his volley and the passion he plays with at 33. It's amazing. It's good for me because I'm close to him and I can learn in my personal life."

On 28 August 2018, Ferrer announced that the 2019 season would be his last in the tour. He also announced a preliminary list of 6 tournaments in which he wants to compete during his final season: the Hopman Cup, Auckland, Buenos Aires, Acapulco, Barcelona and Madrid.

At the Miami Masters, 'Ferru' battled from a set down to defeat world number 3 Alexander Zverev. This was Ferrer's first top 3 victory in almost 5 years. Ferrer would cross the path of Alexander Zverev again at his final tournament, the Madrid Masters. From 4–1 up in the first set, he lost 6–4, 6–1, thus ending his career.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3bGlrQC