"He is a wonderful player. I watch Roger Federer a lot," Toni Nadal told Eurosport . "And if I were not Rafael's uncle or coach, I would want Federer to win all the games. I like the way he plays because he is very elegant but also effective."

There should have been at least 40 games in which the most famous coach uncle was not for Federer, because his nephew often played against the maestro. For the first time in 2004 in Miami, where he won directly and was to give the then world ranking first Federer a preview of the coming years. For a long time Federer could hardly solve the Nadal riddle, at least on sand and hard court. 23:10 was the clear comparison in a direct comparison for Nadal until almost four years ago, with the final of the Australian Open the turnaround came, Federer won six of the last seven matches.

Nevertheless: "If we play against Federer, there is a way to beat him. In my head I know what we have to do before the match," said Toni Nadal, who handed the scepter over to Carlos Moya at the end of 2017. And who did not specifically name the recipe, but tennis fans should know that it consisted of many balls on Federer's backhand.

Toni Nadal: "Against Djokovic, we often didn't know what we should do"

It is more difficult, according to Toni Nadal, against Novak Djokovic. "When we play against Djokovic, we often didn't really know what to do. It's more difficult than against Federer, so I prefer to play against Federer." Djokovic has turned his record against Nadal in recent years and is now 29:26. Especially on hard court Nadal saw hardly any land recently, also because the "Djoker" with Nadal's otherwise dangerous forehand topspin has hardly any problems on his backhand. Which in turn presents Nadal in front of which.

Oh yes, who is "the best"? "Federer," says Toni Nadal, "together with ... I don't know who. Maybe Rod Laver. Or Rafael, he's not too far behind. But Federer is currently the best."