Published 11:16 IST, October 30th 2020
Sunil Gavaskar writes on tennis from Dream11 IPL, chooses one between Nadal and Djokovic
Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar had his say on the Rafael Nadal-Novak Djokovic rivalry and also revealed his choice among the two.
Legendary tennis player Rafael Nadal is arguably one of the greatest to have played the sport. Over the years, the Spaniard has enthralled the tennis community with his excellent game and unmatchable grit. Earlier this month, Nadal thrashed Novak Djokovic in straight sets to win a record-extending 13th Roland Garros title.
Sunil Gavaskar explains why he would pick Rafael Nadal over Novak Djokovic
In doing so, Nadal also tied Roger Federer's record of 20 Grand Slam singles titles, the most in men's tennis history. Recently, legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar had his say on the rivalry between Nadal and Djokovic. Gavaskar heaped praise of Nadal for his superb temperament during the French Open 2020. He also went to reveal why he would pick Nadal over Djokovic.
Sunil Gavaskar wrote in an article for Sportstar that Nadal is level with Roger Federer with 20 major titles under his belt and to many in the tennis world, he is already the greatest of them all. He further said that besides his talent, what shines is his temperament. Gavaskar reckoned that Nadal hardly ever gets ruffled unlike Djokovic, which is why he has a better grip on his game. Gavaskar opined that Nadal doesn’t let other factors disturb his mental equilibrium.
Gavaskar stated that it’s the hardest surface to play on. The Indian veteran added that a player has to be incredibly fit to keep playing five-setters pretty much every day. He also said that Nadal finds something extra that takes him to the title year after year. Gavaskar was sure that the Nadal still has a few years left and with his superb fitness, he could win majors for the next couple of years too.
In the column, Gavaskar uniquely compared the Dream11 IPL 2020's Chennai franchise to the 'Big 3' (Federer, Nadal and Djokovic) because of their consistency. Gavaskar wrote that that Chennai has always reached the play-offs (semi-finals) of the IPL in every edition, just like the ‘Big Three’ have in Grand Slams. Federer, Djokovic and Nadal have made it to the semis if not the finals of virtually all the majors over the last 10 years or so.
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SOURCE: NOVAK DJOKOVIC INSTAGRAM, PTI, RAFAEL NADAL INSTAGRAM
Updated 11:16 IST, October 30th 2020