“That makes the matches more emotional, more dramatic, the people get more involved,” Rafael Nadal says he misses the time when matches at Masters were played as best-of-five

Nadal also remembered the two wins he registered while playing best-of-five matches in Rome.

“That makes the matches more emotional, more dramatic, the people get more involved,” Rafael Nadal says he misses the time when matches at Masters were played as best-of-five

Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal has talked about the time when matches at the Masters tournament were played as best-fo-five and has called it his best memory. As the 37-year-old gets ready to compete at the Rome Masters, Nadal was asked about his best memory and the Spaniard named a couple of them.

Nadal said that his best memories are from the time when there were matches played as best-of-five. The 22-time Grand Slam champion claimed that those matches got the best out of players as they were more dramatic and emotional.

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I mean, all the unforgettable moments. Most of important moments of tennis have been playing in matches best-of-five because at the end of the day that makes the matches more emotional, more dramatic, the people get more involved. In a way, I miss that past times when we were playing the Masters 1000s at the best-of-five, those amazing battles that are part of the history of our sport.
Rafael Nadal said.

Rafael Nadal hails his wins against Guillermo Coria and Roger Federer as his best

Further talking about the best-of-five matches at the Masters tournament, Rafael Nadal hailed his wins against Guillermo Coria and Roger Federer as his best. The 37-year-old said that those wins will stick with him forever.

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Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Image via X)

Nadal said that although he has won ten titles in Rome, the memories of his wins in five sets against Coria and Federer are still fresh in his mind. 

At the end it is true that I won 10 times here. But if you tell me my memories, I mean, for me I'm much more fresh in the memories of the first two victories in five sets against Coria and against Roger than the other days. Even if I had amazing, good matches against Novak, against great players.
Rafael Nadal explained.

Notably, Nadal played a long match against the Argentine tennis player in 2005. In the final of Rome Masters, the two players engaged in an intense battle with the match swinging to and fro. At the end of the third set, Coria was leading, and had it been a best-of-three, the Argentine would have won the match. The next year’s final saw another intense match with Federer and Nadal going head-to-head.

It is worth mentioning that matches at the Masters tournaments were played as a best-of-five till 2008. However, due to several reasons, the authorities tweaked the rules and made it best-of-three. This led to backlash as well as some loss of interest but elevated the importance of Grand Slam tournaments, making the move beneficial.

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