‘The current Novak Djokovic is well below that of five or ten years ago’
Toni Nadal has claimed that the current Novak Djokovic is “well below” the level the great Serb performed at “five or ten years ago.”
The Spaniard argued the level offered by the majority of top players at present is “disappointing”, with the exception of Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
The 62-year-old coached his nephew Rafael Nadal from his childhood until 2017, helping him win 16 of his 22 Grand Slam singles titles. Nadal has been working with world No 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime since 2021.
Djokovic is on course to have one his most successful seasons at Grand Slam level, having won the Australian Open and French Open titles and reached the Wimbledon final.
The 36-year-old will face world No 9 Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals of the 2023 US Open today. The Serbian will usurp Carlos Alcaraz to reclaim the world No 1 ranking following the tournament.
In an interview with El Pais, Nadal asserted that the elite players on the men’s tour were stronger a few years ago than they are now.
“We have placed Roger Federer and Alcaraz as the two leaders of yesteryear and today. The rest of the panorama that has been revealed to us has given a fairly clear advantage in favour of those of the previous decade,” said the Mallorcan.
“The top tennis players of a few years ago were better than those of today. I think that it is most likely so. That before the players were noticeably better and much more competitive than those of the present moment.
“The current Djokovic is well below that of five or ten years ago. Without a doubt, Nadal would surpass [Daniil] Medvedev, [Andy] Murray would be better than [Alexander] Zverev, and [Stan] Wawrinka better than [Casper] Ruud. [Juan Martin] Del Potro would also beat [Andrey] Rublev, and [David] Ferrer the same with [Holger] Rune.
“I am surprised by the general lack of consistency and regularity. With the exception of Djokovic and Alcaraz, the level offered by the majority is disappointing.”
The Spaniard suggested the focus on power over precision could be a reason for this trend, while stating this makes the game less attractive to watch.
“Current tennis is much more focused on hitting the ball very hard to the detriment of giving it control and this, of course, makes it very difficult to make a difference, but also to see beautiful matches,” added Nadal.
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