Still consider Nadal and Djokovic as favorites to win Slams, but not as much as before: Juan Carlos Ferrero


Still consider Nadal and Djokovic as favorites to win Slams, but not as much as before: Juan Carlos Ferrero
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal

Juan Carlos Ferrero is a former World number one ranked player and has won the US Open title in 2003. The Spaniard also reached the finals of two other majors and hung up his racquet in 2012. He currently coaches young Spanish teenager, Carlos Alcaraz.

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Juan Carlos Ferrero in an interview with Tennis Majors stated that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are still favorites to win Grandslams in 2021 but they will have to deal with stronger competition in the coming years. Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, popularly nicknamed the ‘The Big Three’ have dominated tennis in the last decade but with players like Dominic Thiem, Zverev, Tsitsipas rising up the ranks, it will be difficult for them to continue their domination.

“Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have shown us this year that they still have the ambition and the body to compete for the biggest titles in our sport,” Ferrero said. ” If they win some more Grand Slam titles it would not be a surprise, but I feel that in 2021 there will be other favorites, other players with increasingly good chances to win Slams, not just Djokovic and Nadal as it has been before. Dominic Thiem would be one of those guys for sure,” he added.

“I still consider them favorites, but not as much as before, I think people see that players like Thiem, Tsitsipas or Zverev already have good chances of winning against them as well,” the Spaniard added.

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Rafael Nadal is the best player in the history of Roland Garros: Juan Carlos Ferrero

Rafael Nadal with the French Open 2020 title

Juan Carlos Ferrero stated that he is no longer surprised by Nadal’s dominance at the French Open. Ferrero has beaten Nadal twice in their nine meetings and also played alongside him in the Davis Cup for Spain.

“Rafael Nadal is the best player in the history of Roland Garros, nobody has even come close, he has reached so many milestones in Paris. Therefore, I cannot be surprised with his superiority over anyone there,” Ferrero said.

Juan Carlos Ferrero further added that he expects the current top five at the end of the 2021 season to be similar compared to this year. However, he also stated that the competition between them will become much tighter.

Also Read: “I’m not on a vendetta against Novak Djokovic,” Chris Evert clarifies her comments on the Nadal-Djokovic rivalry

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