Nadal: 'I don’t know how I’m going to perform next year, let alone Roger Federer'

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, symbols of a timeless rivalry, capable of pitting them against each other at any time, in any statistic, at the center of any debate. Although Roger is still in the pits and has not played an official circuit match since the semi-final in Melbourne against future champion Novak Djokovic, his spirit continues to linger even in the very topical, especially when it comes to Rafa (remember that the two champions are now paired at 20 slams each after the Majorcan's recent victory in Paris). long exchanges during a match. As could be expected, the survey reported numbers that in this specific field reward Rafa, who has always been more at ease when the exchange gets longer or, if we want to reverse the perspective, more unable than the Swiss colleague to resolve a point in the very first shots. Specifically, only the data extracted from the statistics of the 2019 Master 1000 tournaments that took place on the main fields, i.e. those equipped with the Hawk-Eye system, and only the exchanges with a number greater than 9 strokes were considered. If we analyze this study exclusively from the perspective of Federer Nadal rivalry, the result is obviously in favor of the Spaniard, however the discrepancy is not at all marked: in fact, Rafael Nadal won 58% of the points with exchanges exceeding 9 hits, while Federer he positioned himself behind him with a percentage of 54.5, therefore a figure not too disappointing. Within this report, a rather interesting statistic emerged: in a study relating only to the protagonists of the Top Ten of the circuit (again in the 2019 season), it is clear that these have won only 52.5% of long exchanges. A statistic that probably tells of the inability of modern tennis players (who are now imposing themselves in the higher areas of the ranking) to remain performing even while the exchange gets longer and the energies dry up. Rafael Nadal believes Roger Federer “will come back quite well” following his knee injury and also revealed that they are in regular contact “these days”.

Rafael Nadal talks about Roger Federer

Asked by La Resistencia about his old rival’s recovery and how long the 39-year-old Roger Federer will continue to play, Rafael Nadal replied: “I see that Roger is already training, and I think he will come back quite well. How far can it go? Well, we can’t know that. I don’t know how I’m going to perform next year, let alone Federer.” Nadal and Federer, who are both on 20 Grand Slam following the Spaniard’s success at Roland Garros this year, are both on the ATP Player Council and the former says they chat regularly about things that affect the sport. He added: “These days we often hear from each other; obviously, we discuss the tennis players’ advice and critical situations. Today’s situation is challenging, we have to find a solution given the current times, and I have to say that lately, we have been talking regularly.”

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3mX9cUQ