"I adore Rafael Nadal, what I like the most about him is how much he respects tennis" - Billie Jean King
In a recent interview with AS, Billie Jean King spoke about a number of topics, including the domination of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and which member of the Big 3 she likes the most.
Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic, collectively known as the Big 3, have dominated the men's tour for close to two decades, winning a total of 60 Majors. They have also broken a ton of other records and divided tennis fandom like few in the sport have before them.
Billie Jean King, on her part, revealed she has been a fan of Nadal ever since she and her wife Ilana Kloss met the Spaniard while he was still a junior player.
"They are all three different. I adore Nadal," the 39-time Slam champion told AS. "Ilana (Kloss) and I met him when he must have been 14 or 15 years old, in South Africa. I don't think he remembers, but we do, because they said he was the child with the greatest potential. So we went and we looked at him and we were like, 'Oh my gosh, this guy is so good.' So I love watching him play."
King revealed that she admires Nadal not just for his style of play, but also for the respect he shows for the sport.
"What I like the most about him is how much he respects tennis and how he gets angry when other players don't respect him. That is why children want to be like him more than others when asked and they say that Nadal is their favorite," she added. "In that, he is number one."
"Novak Djokovic is going to be the best in titles, because when Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer competed they hurt each other" - Billie Jean King
Over the course of the interview, Billie Jean King elaborated on her views on the Big 3. The American reckons Roger Federer is mainly cherished for his elegant and graceful style of play, while Rafael Nadal is admired for his down-to-earth nature.
"Older adults stay more with Federer, for his elegance, because the way he hits the ball and dances on the court is beautiful. But Nadal has those values and is more earthy," she said.
Billie Jean King believes Novak Djokovic will surpass his two rivals in terms of big titles won, and pointed out how Nadal and Federer hurt their own chances of winning silverware by competing with one another for so long.
"I think Djokovic is going to be the best in titles, because when Nadal and Federer competed they hurt each other in that sense. Martina (Navratilova) and Chris Evert would have won 40 Grand Slams if one of them hadn't been on the board," King asserted.
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