Rafael Nadal is the only member of the Big Three who has really been competing and active in the tennis world this year given Roger Federer is still out injured and Novak Djokovic hasn’t played many tournaments, partly due to restrictions on unvaccinated people in different countries.
The Spaniard added to his Grand Slam title tally at the start of the year when he won the Australian Open, and was a strong contender at the Indian Wells Masters before he was beaten by Taylor Fritz in the final.
Although the 21 time Grand Slam winner’s streak of 20 wins in a row was broken and he was injured as a result, top coach Mike Digby is really impressed with his strong forehand and the ability of all of the Big Three to play well under pressure.
“I’m incredibly impressed with Rafael Nadal’s forehand, with Federer’s forehand, with Djokovic’s returns, but I’m more impressed with their ability to do all of that as a competitor under pressure, under extreme pressure, and that’s what makes them the great champions that they are,” Digby said on The Tennis Files podcast.
“When you become a top 100 player, top 200 player, everyone can play tennis, everyone can hit a forehand, everyone can hit a backhand, everyone is pretty athletic, everyone can serve pretty well, everyone can return pretty well – but the players that are ultra successful are the ones that can compete the best.
“I think just reinforcing daily, having a competitive environment and understanding what a competitor means even for the top 100 players, that’s what wins them matches – the likes of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, they have the basics both on court and off court nailed on, so then it allows them to be a little bit more creative in certain moments, no need to ever overcomplicate things, just get the basics done really, really well.”
Nadal and Federer are currently injured, while Djokovic starts his Serbian Open campaign on Wednesday.
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