"In some way we helped make our sport better, more popular" - Rafael Nadal on the contributions of Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and himself to tennis
Rafael Nadal believes that the likes of Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and himself have helped make the sport of tennis better than it was when they all began playing.
The quartet has dominated the men's and women's circuits for more than two decades. Nadal (22), Williams (23), Federer (20), and Djokovic (21) have a combined 86 Grand Slam titles - a measure of their supremacy on the ATP and WTA tours.
Their era, however, is slowly coming to an end. Williams recently announced her plans to retire from the sport, with her US Open third-round defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic widely considered the final match of her career. Federer, on the other hand, has battled his fair share of injuries recently and has been on the sidelines for more than a year now.
Serena retires with the 4th highest on-court earnings of all-time ($94,827,380) behind only Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.
The Spaniard and the Serbian are still calling the shots on the circuit for now, though they have also been dealing with their fair share of troubles - the former with niggling injuries and the latter fighting the system and missing multiple tournaments due to his unvaccinated status.
In a press conference at the US Open, when asked for his thoughts on this era of tennis, Nadal stated that it has been "a great story" and that they have all helped make tennis better and more popular.
"Well, yeah, have been a great story for our sport, having a lot of players that achieved a lot during the last 20 years, without a doubt. I think in some way helped to make our sport better, more popular, and create more jobs in our tour. In general I think there is more people in the world living from our sport. That says that our sport, it's bigger than before," he said.
"In some way I feel proud and happy to have a small contribution to the world of tennis. I think in a personal way have been amazing to share all these years with such great champions. Be part of this era is an absolutely honor," he added.
Rafael Nadal through to 2022 US Open 4R, to face Frances Tiafoe next
Rafael Nadal eased past Richard Gasquet in the third round of the US Open on Saturday. With a 6-0, 6-1, 7-5 defeat of the former World No. 7 at Arthur Ashe Stadium, he picked up his 18th win against the Frenchman.
He will next take on Frances Tiafoe, who beat Argentine Diego Schwartzman 7-6(7), 6-4, 6-4 earlier in the day. Though the Spaniard has won both his previous matches against Tiafoe, he is expecting a much tougher contest this time around.
"I think he's playing great. He improved. He's more solid than before. He has more matches and years on the tour. He has experience. He already competed in the biggest stages in advanced round, yeah. He's a player who plays with a lot of passion, a lot of energy. He's very quick. He can play very aggressive. I mean, he's a player that I not going to win if I am not playing well. So I need to play well. I hope to make that happen," he said.
"I know going to be a very important test for me. Fourth round of the US Open, I accept that, that I going to have a very tough opponent in front. In some ways a challenge for me. I enjoy that because I need to be ready for it. I need to increase the amount of energy. I need to increase the level intensity on the court. I hope to be able to make that happen," he added.
Excited to see how much Tiafoe can push Nadal compared to their 2019 AO clash, which wasn’t close. Should be a nice measuring stick for him.