Casper Ruud believes that Rafael Nadal’s astounding dominance on clay overshadows the fact that Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are the “second best players ever on clay.” Since 2005, Nadal has won 14 French Open titles and has also won most Masters tournaments on clay.
Throughout his career, Federer reached 26 clay-court finals and won 11 titles; 11 of his 15 losses in finals on clay have come against Nadal. For his part, Djokovic has 18 clay-court titles to his credit and is the only player to have defeated Nadal in all three clay-court Masters tournaments.
Federer won a French Open while Djokovic is aiming to win his third Roland Garros title this year.
Ruud: Federer and Djokovic, the second best ever on clay
“Novak and Roger are probably the second best clay court players ever.
It’s just that it’s never talked about because Rafa has all those records, so it’s hard. But any time you play against one of these big guys or big players, it’s tough because you feel like you could depend on them a little bit more, especially on clay where the ball is a little bit slower and they have even more time to land the shots. Ruud told Eurosport, according to Sportskeeda.
Even though the clay wasn’t Federer’s best surface, the Swiss was still a powerful force on it. Between 2006 and 2009, Federer reached four consecutive finals at the French Open.
Between 2006 and 2008, Federer was beaten by Nadal in three consecutive French Open finals. In 2009, Nadal suffered a stunning loss to Robin Soderling before the Swiss defeated the Swede in the final to win his first and only French Open title.
On the other hand, Djokovic became the French Open champion after beating Andy Murray in the 2016 final. Before beating Murray, Djokovic lost twice in the French Open final to Nadal and once to Stan Wawrinka.
Nadal won Roland Garros last year after beating Casper Ruud in the final and this season he is preparing to win his 15th tournament in Paris, which would also be his 23rd Grand Slam, a battle in which Novak Djokovic is also in.
Casper Ruud tells what it feels like to face Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on clay court ð#Rafael Nadal #NovakDjokovic #RogerFederer #CasperRuud #Tennis pic.twitter.com/mp71hAla3M — Sportskeeda Tennis (@SK__Tennis) April 7, 2023
