Toni Nadal claims Novak Djokovic’s current level is way off compared to a few years ago when he played Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer

Toni Nadal speaks about the plight of tennis today.

Toni Nadal claims Novak Djokovic’s current level is way off compared to a few years ago when he played Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer

(L) Toni Nadal; R) Novak Djokovic (Via user generated content)

Toni Nadal, uncle and ex-coach of Rafael Nadal, recently implied that Novak Djokovic is playing at a much lower level today. The Spaniard also said he played a better game a few years ago. He claimed that the Serb had a better game when he was fighting tooth and nail against Roger Federer and Rafa. He also said that the top tennis players of a few years ago were much better and more competitive than the players of today.

In a column of El Pais, Toni Nadal said that Djokovic from a few years ago is significantly better than the man playing today. He said that this was because the Serb was dominating with no competition. This included all players with the exception of Carlos Alcaraz, who seems to playing the best tennis of his career.

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“The current Djokovic is well below that of five or ten years ago,” he said referring to the edge of the knife battles the Serb used to have with Nadal and Federer. He also made crude comparisons with players of yesteryear and those today. He established that Nadal, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka, in their prime, would easily defeat the likes of Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, and Casper Ruud.

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Toni Nadal also made a comparison between Juan Martin del Potro and Andrey Rublev. He established that the retired Argentinian would have an easy win over Rublev.

The Spanish coach claims that the quality of tennis players from barely two decades ago to now has diminished significantly. “I am surprised by the general lack of consistency and regularity. With the exception of Djokovic and Alcaraz, the level offered by the majority is disappointing, “ he said.

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Toni Nadal surprised with lack of consistency among the new generation of players

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic (Image via Reuters)

The Spaniard has made a disheartening observation that the players on the tour are completely lacking consistency in their performance. While comparing them with the players of yesteryear, Toni mentioned that no one is able to completely dominate the field.

The Big-4, comprising Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray have dominated over the last two decades. Starting with the Federer era in 2003, when he won his first Grand Slam at Wimbledon, there has been no looking back. Since then, the torch has always been passed between these four players. However, there has been constant competition from the likes of Stan Wawrinka and Juan Martin del Potro.

However, the past few years have only seen a constant battle for the crown between Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic. Toni Nadal attributes this to a lack of consistency among the other players. The Spaniard seems to be happy with the performances of Djokovic and Alcaraz. However, he is largely disappointed with the rest of the players.

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