Roger Federer chooses his toughest rival between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal

While Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are starting to create an interesting rivalry, the ‘Big 3’ era in tennis will be hard to surpass. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had one of the greatest rivalries in sports history, only for Novak Djokovic to appear and challenge them both. The Spaniard has already said who was the toughest rival, but who has been the Swiss’ greatest rival in his opinion?

Federer, who retired at the 2022 Laver Cup, will always have a place in tennis history. Not only as becoming the first man to win 20 Grand Slams, among other records, but also as he became a bridge between two generations of players. His rise coincided with the last years of greats such as Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi or Carlos Moyá, and during his peak he had to fight hard against Nadal and Djokovic, among other younger talents.

Despite facing some great players, Federer is clear that his toughest rival has been Nadal, something he has said on multiple occasions, often referring to his topspin and the fact that he is left-handed. Thanks to that, Nadal hurt Federer’s backhand the most.

“I think Rafa, for that matter, because of the way he plays with his left-handed topspin and so forth, has really made me think through my game again. What do I need to change to actually compete and beat him? He has probably been the most challenging opponent for me overall, both early in my career and later on,” he told CNN in 2013.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal after their 2019 Wimbledon semifinal match (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

A sentiment that he echoed in 2017, after he defeated Nadal in the Australian Open final. “We go furthest back, you know. Novak also has been one of my biggest rivals. So have Roddick and Hewitt,” he told ASAP Sports. “But Rafa definitely has been very particular in my career. I think he made me a better player. Him and a couple more players have done the most to do that to me because the way his game stacks up with me, it’s a tricky one. I’ve said that openly. It remains for me the ultimate challenge to play against him,” he added. However, Federer most recently admitted that he didn’t give Djokovic the credit he deserved.

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Federer said that he didn’t give Djokovic ‘the respect’ he deserved

In his documentary “Federer: Twelve Final Days,” which followed the Swiss in the days ahead of his retirement at the Laver Cup in 2022, the 20-time Grand Slam champion admitted he wasn’t really a fan of Djokovic’s game.

“I think I didn’t give Novak the respect he deserved because of his technical flaws. I felt like Novak had a very extreme forehand grip and his backhand for me wasn’t as fluid as it is nowadays. But then he ironed those things out super well and became an unbelievable monster of a player,” he said.

He also admitted that the Serbian’s rise wasn’t precisely what his fans or Nadal’s fans expected. “I guess he was the party crasher of Rafa and Roger fans. There was a lot of Rafa-Roger love there, so when Novak came probably a lot of people said, ‘Look, we don’t need a third guy. We’re happy with Roger and Rafa,’” he explained.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at the 2022 Laver Cup ( Clive Brunskill/Getty Images for Laver Cup)

Federer ended his career with unfavorable head-to-heads against both Djokovic and Nadal. The Swiss has a 23-27 record against the Serbian, while against the Spaniard he has a 16-24 record.