Former world number three Guillermo Coria believes that Spain’s Rafael Nadal and Serbia’s Novak Djokovic are competing to be the best tennis player ever. Both were part of the original ‘Big Three’, which also included former world number one Roger Federer.
For nearly two decades, the three have dominated men’s tennis. Djokovic is widely recognized as the most successful player in men’s tennis history in the singles category during the Open era, having won up to 24 Grand Slam titles. On the other hand, Nadal is not far behind in terms of Grand Slam trophies, having won 22 of them.
He won 14 of those titles while playing in Roland Garros, earning him the nickname ‘King of Clay’. Coria, the former world number three, recently spoke with Spanish media source Marca about how both players are competing to be the greatest tennis player of all time. Coria also congratulated Nadal ahead of his highly anticipated retirement. The 38-year-old just announced his retirement from professional tennis after competing in the Davis Cup, where he will represent Spain in the quarterfinals.
“It’s difficult because there’s [Roger] Federer and a lot of legends that we haven’t seen. I played against him (Nadal) and I put him with ‘Nole’ fighting for the number one spot,” he said. “On clay, he broke many records. I think he’s one of the best athletes in history because of what he generated and continues to generate. It’s a spectacular book on how to compete, how to approach a match, how to resolve the issue if things don’t go well and when things go well how to continue with that manual, how to handle yourself off the court, his statements. I think his family was very important and the people who surrounded him, especially Carlos Moya, who was his great partner and friend. It’s a bit like what’s happening now with Carlitos Alcaraz, who has [Juan Carlos] Ferrero, a former world No 1. That also helps to make the journey clearer and better because they have lived it. Rafa is among the four best athletes in the world.”
