Gilles Simon: Novak Djokovic is stronger than Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer

Former world No. 6 Gilles Simon thinks Novak Djokovic is stronger than Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as he believes the Serb has the most complete game on the Tour. 

Djokovic, ranked at No. 1 in the world, has 17 Grand Slam titles in his collection and his goal is to achieve the all-time Grand Slam record and the historic No. 1 ranking. 

"The strongest is Novak Djokovic,” Simon said on La Chaine L’Equipe, as quoted on Sportskeeda. “He’s stronger than the two others. To me, he’s the most complete player with the least weaknesses and he will be the hardest to beat."

Nadal, 34, continued his dominance at the French Open as he claimed a record 13th title at Roland Garros after handing a straight-set defeat to Djokovic in the final. 

Nadal equaled Federer's all-time Grand Slam record of 20 Majors captured after winning the French Open.

"Rafael Nadal is extremely strong as well and extremely difficult to beat,” Simon added. “I think he is the strongest on clay, the biggest challenge on the surface, especially in Roland Garros. What he did was unreal.”

After praising Djokovic and Nadal, Simon also praised Federer 

“And Federer is the same. He is stressful to play against but very pleasant to watch," Simon concluded.

After Nadal tied Federer's Grand Slam record, Federer had a classy message for the Spaniard.

"I have always had the utmost respect for my friend Rafa as a person and as a champion. As my greatest rival over many years, I believe we have pushed each other to become better players,” Federer wrote on Twitter. “Therefore, it is a true honour for me to congratulate him on his 20th Grand Slam victory. is especially amazing that he has now won Roland Garros an incredible 13 times, which is one of the greatest achievements in sport,” Federer wrote. “I also congratulate his team, because nobody can do this alone. I hope 20 is just another step on the continuing journey for both of us. Well done, Rafa. You deserve it.”

Nadal was grateful for the kind words Federer shared.

"Thanks to Roger for the words. As everybody knows, we have a very, very good relationship. We respect each other a lot," Nadal said. "In some ways, I think he's happy when I'm winning and I'm happy when he's doing things well. In some way for me it means a lot, the positive relationship that we have together, because we have been going through a great rivalry for a very, very long time."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3e6UOpz