"Is Rafael Nadal more of a warrior than Roger Federer? I'm not sure of it" - Gilles Simon
Rafael Nadal is widely acknowledged as one of the fiercest competitors in tennis, and has even gained monikers such as ‘warrior’ or ‘raging bull’. However, Gilles Simon, believes calling Nadal a 'warrior' is too simplistic, and that the Spaniard fights more for his personal self than to defeat his opponents.
In a recent interview, the Frenchman talked about both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer in context of the word 'warrior', and how the two cannot be compared through the metric of this quality.
Simon began by explaining his understanding of the word 'warrior'. He believes that every player can be associated with the term, but that the tunnel-visioned players are distinct from the more open-minded ones.
“In my opinion, the term 'warrior' here means competitor,” Simon said. “Because even though we all are, there is a ladder. For some, only victory is beautiful; for others, there is more than that.”
The Frenchman then raised a hypothetical situation in which each member of the 'Big 3' was asked to concede the record of most Grand Slams.
“When Federer, Nadal and Djokovic say: 'I would love to hold the record for Grand Slam titles, but if it isn't me it will be fine,' which one is more credible?” Simon asked.
Gilles Simon believes that Rafael Nadal making such a statement would be more credible than the other two doing the same; "For me it's Rafa," he said. Keeping all this in mind, Simon concluded that calling Rafael Nadal more of a warrior than Roger Federer is not necessarily accurate.
"It (Rafael Nadal's fight) always seems to me to be more in terms of personal evolution. So is he more of a 'warrior' than Roger? I'm not sure of it,” Simon said.
Marin Cilic should be an example to follow, just like Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic: Gilles Simon
According to Simon, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal show more passion on the court than Roger Federer. The Frenchman, however, asserted that that doesn't necessarily indicate their competitive nature.
“With Roger, it (anger) is less visible than the others,” Simon said. "And Rafa, is it because we see him banging himself on the thigh while shouting ‘vamos' that he would permanently have a killer mind?”
Simon believes that success can be achieved even without displaying any signs of frustration. He cited the example of Marin Cilic - a player he reckons never shows any form of anger.
Simon also suggested that Cilic’s characteristics make him the right person to idolize instead of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic.
“Sorry, but I know Grand Slam winners who don't have the rage,” Simon added. “I remind you that Marin won the US Open (in 2014). He played two Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon 2017, Australian Open 2018). He has put us in Davis Cup several times. Why shouldn't he be an example to follow? "