‘Rafa’s thorn has left me, truth is he is very good,’ Tommy Robredo shares the reason for his poor record against Rafael Nadal

‘Rafa’s thorn has left me, truth is he is very good,’ Tommy Robredo shares the reason for his poor record against Rafael Nadal

Tommy Robredo, Rafael Nadal

Tommy Robredo was one of Spain’s flag bearers in tennis for over two decades as he finally draws the line to his illustrious career. Robredo, who has won 12 titles throughout his career shared how he has many regrets even after winning some of the biggest stars in the sport. The 39-year-old has beaten the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray but has never managed to attain the same feat against compatriot Rafael Nadal.

The Spaniard shared how he has played against Federer many times and was able to get the better off him a few times. However, he calls himself lucky to beat both Djokovic and Murray and lastly reasoned his poor record against Nadal because of fewer matches against the 21-time Grand Slam winner, Rafael Nadal.

Robredo shared how beating these players took a lot of effort as he claimed them to be on a different level. He shared how the big three have won so many Grand Slams proving their dominance in this generation. He said, “With (Roger) Federer I have played more times, I have been lucky enough to beat (Novak) Djokovic and (Andy) Murray. And I’ve played less times with Rafa, but beating these monsters is very complicated. There are people who have not been able to with any of them. They are on another level. That Nadal, Djokovic and Federer have come together at the same time and have won 61 ‘Grand Slam’ titles… It’s been 15 years winning and the rest none. That shows how special they are. Rafa’s thorn has left me, but the truth is that he is very good.”

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Tommy Robredo retires after 23 seasons on the ATP tour

Tommy Robredo
Tommy Robredo

Tommy Robredo, who reached the quarterfinals of the French Open five times decided to retire at the Barcelona Open where he earned his first win at the age of 16 back in 1999. In a career that lasted over two decades, Robredo has won several titles and was a handful for some of the top players on tour.

The 39-year-old lost 6-1, 6-1 against compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the first round of the Barcelona Open as he called it a day in front of his home crowd as his wife and little daughter showered him kisses from the stands.

Robredo’s biggest win came at the 2006 Hamburg European Open, an ATP Masters 1000 event. The Spaniard’s most recent win came against Croatia Open in July 2013. He reached the quarterfinals French Open five times and was also a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open back in 2007 and also reached the last eight at the US Open back in 2013.

Also Read: “You don’t lose class,” Greg Rusedski rooting for Novak Djokovic to defend his French Open title

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