Bellucci: "Djokovic the best, Nadal the heaviest"
Thomaz Bellucci just barely made it into the top 20. Nevertheless, the Brazilian, who has just retired, could annoy Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal from time to time. But in retrospect, the tennis pensioner has an explanation for why it was never enough to win against the two.
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Mar 20, 2023, 06:57 am
Thomaz Bellucci believes Novak Djokovic is the best of the 'Big Three' but admitted Rafael Nadal was his most difficult opponent. Bellucci, 35, said goodbye to professional tennis at his home game in Rio a few weeks ago. During his career, Bellucci played against Novak Djokovic six times and ended on the losing side each time.
Bellucci played against Nadal just as often, but was never able to win a flower pot against him either. Now the Brazilian said about his matches against his eternal rivals: "For me, Djokovic is the best. But the one I always had the most trouble with was Nadal because of the way I played," left-hander Bellucci told ESPN.
The sixth and final clash between Bellucci and Djokovic took place at the 2016 Rome Masters. Back then, Bellucci won the first set without losing a game before Djokovic stormed back and prevailed 0-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Bellucci still remembers the duel in Rome very well: “I knew exactly how to play. But it's one thing to know how to play, it's difficult to put it on the pitch because the guy doesn't let you play the way you want."
And Bellucci continued on the match in the eternal city: "So I don't know what happened. I had a really good day, felt really good. And sometimes when you're having a good day, it seems like the other one is start playing worse because he's like, damn, that guy's playing well. But then he manages to pull the rabbit out of the hat. He starts doing other things during the game. That's why these guys are out of line .They start to play better and I couldn't keep it up, it's difficult," said Bellucci, who climbed to 21st in the world in 2010, which is also his best career ranking.