Toni Nadal has claimed that Rafael Nadal would have been the best in history if he had been healthy, which enraged many of Novak Djokovic’s fans who think otherwise.
The never-ending GOAT debate should have ended in many people’s minds after Djokovic finally fulfilled his long-time dream of winning the Olympic gold. It was the only title missing from his trophy cabinet, but the debate is still ongoing for some.
It’s ongoing because it’s a highly subjective matter. There can be a consensus on which player is the best ever, considering statistics and records, but for most people, it’s more of an emotional debate.
Those who favor Roger Federer will swear that the sport was saved due to his global impact, and they likely wouldn’t be wrong. Those who favor Djokovic will point out his records and the fact that he has the most Grand Slams and has spent the most weeks as world number one player ever, not only on the ATP Tour, and they wouldn’t be wrong either.
Those who favor Rafael Nadal will point to his clay-court legacy, the lack of clay-court majors and tournaments overall, or his frequent physical issues, which likely wouldn’t be wrong, either. None of those claims would be wrong.
All of these arguments have merit, and it mostly comes down to personal preference. The only thing all three sides can reluctantly agree on is that Nadal is indeed the best ever on clay.
For his uncle, Toni Nadal, the Spaniard would have been the best ever tennis player, regardless of the surface, had he been as injury-free as someone like Djokovic has been.
It’s factually true that Djokovic has had better luck with injuries, but also that he worked on his body incredibly, and it’s very likely that Nadal would have had an even better career had he been injury-free.
Does that mean he would have been a better player overall? That’s impossible to answer. But Toni Nadal thinks so, and he’s entitled to his opinion.
“Who played better? Federer. Who is the best? Djokovic. Because Djokovic won more titles than the others. Who could be the best without injuries? My nephew.”
“But he has injuries so at the end, the best is Djokovic. So in my opinion, from what I have seen on court, when Federer plays, no one beats him.”
Djokovic’s fans obviously didn’t react kindly to Toni Nadal’s comments because, to them, it seemed like he was downplaying Djokovic’s achievements. Still, he was merely making a hypothetical comparison based on his own opinion, which he’s entitled to.
The whole conversation then shifted to the Spanish coach admitting that being talented alone is not enough. There were talented players before, but to reach this level, an athlete needs to work really hard.
All of the players he mentioned were born with natural talent, but they also worked extremely hard to become as great as they are. A bit of luck, or lack of it, was present in all of their careers, even though maybe in different shapes and forms.
