Rafael Nadal has plenty of unique tennis skills of his own, but the King of Clay admitted he would have liked to have some of Roger Federer's abilities.
It is no secret that Federer and Nadal admires the game of one another, despite their fierce rivalry that has been spanning for more than a decade. The competition between the two have brought out each other's own styles, but Nadal admitted he would have wanted to add some of Federer's skillset.
"Surely I would have liked to have some qualities that other players have and like the one Roger has too, obviously. But you have to see talent from several points of view: you need to enter the court with the right attitude and with enough energy. Other players would like to have these abilities as well," Nadal said, reports Tennis World USA.
Federer and Nadal have very opposite type of games. Nadal's techniques, particularly his lethal forehand, require physicality, while Federer has always relied on his elegance and effortless game. Nonetheless, both styles have been very effective in their own ways as it gave Nadal 14 major titles, with Federer earning a record 17 Grand Slam singles titles.
But while recent injuries and setbacks have forced the two to make adjustments to their game, it proved ineffective for Federer and Nadal to compete from coming off serious injuries. Federer, who suffered a left knee injury earlier this year and re-injured it at Wimbledon, has lost some of his quickness, while Nadal, who is still recuperating from a left wrist injury, showed the struggle to count on his forehand.
Nadal and Federer will still have to wait before they could return to the tennis scene in full health, but it seems the former is already determined to get back on track. After constantly slipping down the ATP world rankings, the Mallorcan has vowed to get back atop the summit before he considers retirement.
"I would not focus on this record, I am not necessarily interested in beating it. I have the enough passion for tennis in order to be No. 1," Nadal told Spanish XL Semanal magazine.