"Talk about if I am better or worse than Roger Federer is stupid, the titles say he's much better" - When Rafael Nadal spoke being compared to Swiss
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are part of one of the most recognizable and widely-acclaimed rivalries in men's tennis, one that has witnessed many thrilling matches over the years.
What began with a face-off at the 2004 Miami Open lasted 40 meetings until their final encounter at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships, with the Spaniard holding a 24-16 lead in their head-to-head. For the longest time, it was Federer who remained in the lead in the Grand Slam tally between the two, retiring with 20 to his name in the year 2022.
At the time of the Swiss' retirement, Nadal also had 20 Slams, to which he has now added two to take his tally up to 22. Interestingly, Nadal himself did not believe that he would ever get to a stage where he would be considered a better player than the legendary Swiss.
Speaking at his press conference after the 2010 US Open, where he completed his Career Slam with a win over Novak Djokovic in the final, Nadal spoke about comparisons to Federer, saying that it was "stupid" at that point. At the time, he had nine Major trophies in his cabinet, while Federer was far away with 16 under his belt.
The Mallorcan believed that Federer being a better player than him would remain the case all his life. Hailing the former World No. 1 as an example he wanted to follow when it came to adapting, Nadal emphasized that they both had different styles of tennis, making it difficult to compare them.
"I think I am more than happy that with my titles, for sure -- I think is talk about if I am better or worse than Roger is stupid, because the titles say he's much better than me, so that's the truth at that moment. I think will be the true all my life," Rafael Nadal said.
"But, sure, for me, always, always Roger was an example, especially because he improved his tennis I think during all his career, and that's a good thing that you can copy, no? So I try to copy this, and I know Roger and me are different, much different styles. Being better than Roger I don't think so is the right moment to talk about that, because I am -- I don't think that," he added.
"My goal is all the time and all my life was the same, is keep improving" - Rafael Nadal
During the press conference, Rafael Nadal admitted that Roger Federer's then tally of 16 Slams was too far away for him to think about, instead maintaining that he will simply focus on improving himself every year.
The southpaw went on to assert that improving, in this case, did not even mean that he had to win more every year, but rather the self-improvement one could observe in oneself through the course of the season.
"16 for me is too far for me to think about that, no? My goal is all the time and all my life was the same, is keep improving and feel myself better player next year than what I felt this year. Being better player doesn't mean you gonna win more than you did, because win or lose sometimes is part of the moment and part of the confidence," Nadal said.
In terms of overall ATP titles, Federer remains in the lead for the moment, having won 11 more (103) when compared to the 22-time Grand Slam champion (92).