Rafael Nadal's uncle Toni hints at French Open 2021 being tough for him to win

Having had a fairly average start to his 2021 season, the stakes were high for Rafael Nadal as he went into the Barcelona Open earlier this month. Looking to reassert his dominance in the tour and win his first title of the year, Nadal had to put up a mammoth 3 hour-38-minute long fight in the final before he finally got the better of World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas. While not up to his usual standards, many hailed the Spaniard's win as a good sign of things to come. However, one person most definitely unimpressed by Nadal's 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 effort was his former coach and uncle Toni Nadal.

Toni Nadal names Novak Djokovic as 'greatest threat' to Rafa

Talking to the press about the upcoming Mallorca ATP 250 Championships, Toni Nadal made some scathing comments on his nephew's form going into the Madrid Open 2021. Talking about Rafa's Barcelona Open final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Nadal remarked that the World No. 3's quality has not been up to the mark this year. 

"It was not a great game, I think neither of them played well, although it was very exciting. For Rafel, I think it was something important. That he is able to beat the 5 in the world, and win without playing very well, with mistakes that he normally does not make, is something that can give him a lot of morale for the following tournaments ".

Talking further, the celebrated coach also said that while Djokovic will be less confident come the French Open, he will still be the biggest threat to Rafael Nadal's ambitions at Phillipe-Chatrier. Heading into the Madrid Open 2021 as the top seed after the withdrawal of World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal will have to wait a few more weeks before he can butt heads with his archrival once again. 

Nadal French Open 2021

After winning his 20th Grand Slam title at the French Open in 2020, Rafael Nadal joined long-time rival Roger Federer at the top of the ATP's list of 'Most Grand Slam titles'. Having failed to ensure his double career Grand Slam at the Australian Open earlier in the year, the Rafael Nadal French Open 2021 campaign is set to begin again in May this year. If successful, it will be Nadal's 14th title at the tournament.

Rafael Nadal vs Djokovic head to head

The Nadal vs Djokovic head to head currently stands at 29-27 in favour of the Serbian. While Novak Djokovic leads with a massive 20-7 margin on hardcourts, Nadal has a distinct advantage over Djokovic on his surface of choice, clay, having won 18 of their 25 meetings on the surface. The last four matches between the two have gone 2-2 in either's favour. Characteristically, Djokovic has ruled on hardcourts, winning the 2019 Australian Open and 2020 ATP Cup finals while Rafa has downed the World No. 1 in the finals at the Rome Masters and the French Open in 2020.

Image Credits: AP