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Tennis greats Federer and Nadal have been likened to Messi and Ronaldo by Toni Nadal.
Toni Nadal has drawn comparisons between the legendary rivalry in football between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi and the iconic equivalent in tennis between his nephew Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
The famous coach said that Federer is like Messi and Nadal is like Ronaldo, but that there are "more differences” between the legendary football players than there are between the tennis greats.
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Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal: head-to-head
According to the ATP Tour website, Federer and Nadal faced off 40 times on tour, with the Spaniard winning 24 times to the Swiss' 16. Many of Federer's victories came in the latter years of the pair's rivalry, with the Wimbledon icon claiming seven wins in the last eight match-ups.
Federer won two of their last three meetings at Slams, triumphing in a see-saw Australian Open final in 2017 and the 2019 Wimbledon semi-final, while Nadal unsurprisingly defeated his rival in the 2019 Roland Garros semis.
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Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo
The 22-time Slam winner and his former competitive rival have been compared to Messi and Ronaldo, whose impact on football reverberated for over a decade before seemingly culminating with the Inter Miami forward’s 2022 World Cup success.
Messi has claimed the Ballon d’Or eight times to Ronaldo’s five, with the Argentina captain winning two major international trophies to the Portugal legend’s Euro 2016 triumph. Large portions of their rivalry was dominated by the meetings between Barcelona and Real Madrid, involving a glut of flashpoints between both teams.
Despite Messi and Ronaldo respectively leaving European football for MLS and the Saudi Pro League, many of their supporters still pit them against each other in discussions.
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What Toni Nadal said about Federer vs Nadal and Messi vs Ronaldo
Toni Nadal clarified why he believes the two sporting rivalries are similar in an interview with Super Deportivo Radio, even if he also made the case that there is one significant distinction.
“It is comparable with the Nadal-Federer rivalry, only that Rafa can do the same thing that Federer does, while Cristiano cannot do what Messi does,” said the Mallorcan. “It is comparable in duration. From Messi to Cristiano there are more differences than from Rafael to Federer. Being Cristiano, an excellent footballer, I think Messi has almost no comparison with anyone.
“Federer is an incredible player for me. What he has done and achieved. What I saw him do on a tennis court, I have not seen anyone do. We could say that Federer has been Messi. Rafael has a different, but very high, talent. He is probably the player who has troubled the best.
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"It is true that my nephew does not have the technical excellence or elegance that Federer may have, but Rafael does the same thing that Federer does, although Cristiano cannot do the same thing that Messi does.
“Cristiano is very good, but he does not have the ability to do the dribbles that he did or that Messi has done throughout his career. In the case of my nephew, in a different way, he is able to do the shots that Federer does. Messi lost five Ballon d’Ors with Cristiano Ronaldo. The best in history also had setbacks, but the difference is that Messi’s frustration did not prevent him from advancing in his career.”
Rafael Nadal had coaching from Toni Nadal from his early years until 2017, helping his nephew win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam titles.
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