Tennis great Jim Courier believes that Rafael Nadal doesn’t have what it takes to replicate the longevity of Roger Federer’s career as far as the on-court action is concerned.
Nadal has arguably been Federer’s closest challenger throughout the past decade, but the Spaniard’s career has always been troubled by injury stints every now and then. And while Jim does hope that Nadal continues to play at the highest level, he doesn’t see it happening; citing stylistic differences as his main reason.
“The amount of energy that Roger uses to hit a shot is way less than what used by Nadal when hitting his strokes. Federer interprets tennis as if it was a dance, a ballet on the court. Nadal instead, when he is playing, it looks as if he’s battling,” the four-time Grand Slam winner said.
“That sort of explains why the Spaniard will not enjoy the same longevity as Roger, even though we would all love to see Rafael competing when he is 33. Credit must be given to those who taught Federer to play that way.”
Despite being 33, Federer accomplished more history this year, winning his first ever Davis Cup title with Team Switzerland, while also making the final of Wimbledon for the first time in two years.
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