“Had the biggest heart” – Rafael Nadal’s humility surpasses Federer and Djokovic’s aura as ex-WTA pro makes impressive comparison

It was the final of the Wimbledon Championships 2008. Roger Federer met Rafael Nadal in an exciting duel in the summit battle. The Swiss maestro was already a five-time Wimbledon champion and wanted to win his sixth title in a row at the Grand Slam tournament on grass. However, Nadal held his nerve in the final moments of the match and defeated Federer in five sets. More than 16 years after that great victory, former American tennis player Alexandra Stevenson remembered Nadal’s Wimbledon triumph over Federer.

A new episode of the Serving Aces podcast featuring Stevenson debuted earlier this week. One of the topics discussed in the podcast was Nadal’s retirement and his illustrious career. During this conversation, Stevenson highlighted a hidden quality of Nadal that may not be known to many.

She praised his down-to-earth nature and said: “Nadal has the humility and the courage. His humility allowed him to adapt to his opponents on the court and not be stubborn, and that’s a great quality, especially for a professional tennis player, because a lot of us get stubborn, right? He was so different from the other three. Nadal had the biggest heart among the Big Four. He wouldn’t allow himself to go down in a match because he was different.”

Early in his career, Federer was very aggressive on court and had a few outbursts during his matches. Djokovic is also no stranger to controversial moments such as fights. However, Nadal rarely loses his composure on court, which Stevenson praised.

Nadal is now in the final stages of his illustrious career. Earlier this month, he made the announcement that had been in the cards for some time.

Rafael Nadal on his retirement: “It’s an appropriate time to end his career”

Over the last few months, Nadal has been a constant victim of injuries. Every time he tried to make a comeback on the court, injury stopped him. Plus, he’s 38 and feels like his body has had enough. And a few days ago, he spread the news of his resignation on social media.

He said: “Hello everyone, I would like to inform you that I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been a difficult few years, particularly the last two. I don’t think I could play without restrictions. It’s obviously a difficult decision that took me some time. But in this life everything has a beginning and an end. And I think it is the right time to end a career that has been long and much more successful than I could have ever imagined.”

In announcing his decision to retire, Nadal confirmed that next month’s Davis Cup final will be his final tournament. Interestingly, there were rumors that Nadal would take part in the upcoming Paris Masters. However, tournament boss Cedric Pioline dismissed rumors that the Spanish maestro had requested a wildcard entry. The Davis Cup final will most likely be Nadal’s farewell event. Almost everyone in the tennis community would like to see him win another title for their country.