Roger Federer was the "most uncomfortable" player for my game, the Big 3 have been good for promoting our sport: Robin Soderling
Robin Soderling famously became one of only two players to defeat Rafael Nadal at the French Open in 2009, when he reached the final against Roger Federer. The Swede had an excellent season that year, reaching the quarterfinals at the US Open and the semifinals at the ATP Finals.
In a recent interview with Marca, when asked about who is the best player out of Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal, Soderling revealed that the Swiss was the trickiest for him to handle.
"I'm not saying he was the best, but the most uncomfortable for my game was Roger Federer," the Swede said. "His style didn't suit my tennis."
The former World No. 4 faced Roger Federer a total of 17 times, winning only once: a four-set quarterfinal victory at the 2010 Roland Garros.
Soderling also spoke about his famous win over Rafael Nadal, who was the four-time defending champion at Roland Garros at the time. Although the Swede played down the achievement, he admitted that the match does give him good memories.
"It was a good match, but it was only a tennis match. I had several good years and I have very good memories," he said. "The name of Roland Garros is more related to Rafa than to me. How many have you won? 12 or 13? It's that I lost count. What he has done there is incredible and will never happen again in history."
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic are the "three best of all-time" - Soderling
Robin Soderling is one of the few players on tour to have defeated Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. When asked about who he believes to be the best out of the trio, he said it depends on which player you like the most.
"I think it depends on which player you like the most," Soderling said. "What is evident is that they are the three best of all time and the most impressive thing is that they have coincided in time."
Despite never having had the opportunity to reach the summit of the men's game, Soderling believes the Big 3's dominance has been good for the sport.
"It has been very difficult for the rest to make room for us," he added. "I remember when I was the fourth of the world and I had to face them. Having all three of them has been very good for promoting our sport."