"Rafael Nadal on clay is a nightmare, Roger Federer on grass is no fun" - Thomas Johansson
If former Grand Slam winner Thomas Johansson's words are anything to go by, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are two of the toughest opponents one can come up against on the ATP Tour.
Johansson made the observation in response to a fan's question during the latest episode of the Baseline Intelligence with Jonathan Stokke podcast.
The Swede noted that while playing against Nadal on clay was a "nightmare," finding yourself up against Federer on grass was "no fun at all" either.
"For me, I would say that, you know, playing Rafael Nadal on clay is a nightmare," Thomas Johansson said. "And I can tell you that playing Roger Federer on grass is not fun at all either."
Elaborating on Federer's style in particular, the former Australian Open champion stated that the 20-time Major winner could conjure any shot in the book at any given point in a match. This splendid variety, in his opinion, is what set Federer apart from the big baseline hitters.
"The secret will with Roger, is that in a rally of let's say 10 shots, he gives you eight different balls, you know?" Thomas Johansson said. "He doesn't give you the same ball."
"For example, let's say, like, Aghasi or Leyton, you know, it's more like, I would say more machine," he continued. "You, you get pretty much the same ball but still, it comes very quick, very deep, with a lot of spin, but with Roger is something different. So, I would say Rafael for sure. But Roger on grasses is, I mean sometimes it's like you need a GPS to get back to the court."
Johansson also took note of him playing tennis during the transition from the Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi era to the 'Big-4' age — dubbing himself "lucky" to have gotten the opportunity to play many of the sport's legends.
"I've been very lucky because I was in between to like two of the best eras of tennis, I would say, I was, you know, I played the Andre Agassi, I've played Pete Sampras, I played Boris Becker, but at the same time, I played Roger, Rafa, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic."
Thomas Johansson finished 0-9 against Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer
Thomas Johansson's assessment is not without reason. The Swede, in his long career, came up against Nadal and Federer on nine occasions in total. Unfortunately, he lost all nine of his encounters against the duo.
While Nadal posted straight-sets wins over Johansson in Miami (2005) and Barcelona (2007) in their meetings, Federer found himself sharing a lengthier rivalry with him.
Johansson came close to beating the Swiss on multiple occasions, most notable of which were their 2001 encounters in Rome and Miami — both of which went to deciding set tiebreakers. Federer, however, managed to maintain his clean record with clutch wins.