John McEnroe names Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as he reveals ‘dream’ and ‘nightmare’ matchups
Tennis legend John McEnroe has declared that playing Roger Federer at Wimbledon would be a “dream”, while facing Rafael Nadal at the French Open would be a “nightmare.”
The seven-time Major singles champion described Federer as “the most beautiful player” and also asserted that what Nadal has achieved on clay is “insane.”
Federer has won more Wimbledon singles titles than any other man, having triumphed eight times at the All England Club between 2003 and 2017. The 42-year-old Swiss, who retired from tennis in 2022, won 20 Grand Slam titles and 103 singles tournaments overall during his glittering career.
Nadal holds the record for the most titles by any player at the French Open, having won 14 times at Roland Garros during his unparalleled dominance of the event. The 37-year-old Spaniard, who has not competed since January due to injury, has won 22 Major titles – with the most recent coming at the 2022 French Open.
The duo, who faced off 40 times over a 15-year period from 2004 to 2019, shared one of tennis’ greatest and most iconic rivalries. Nadal holds a 24-16 advantage, while Federer won six of the pair’s last seven encounters.
Speaking on an episode of the SmartLess podcast, former world No 1 McEnroe discussed the two tennis greats and revealed he would much rather face Federer at his best Major event.
“Federer is the most beautiful player I’ve ever seen. You know I idolized Rod Laver. He was awesome. Whereas you look at Rafael Nadal, that’s not your typical or prototypical tennis player. His body is bigger up top. When we grew up, they were like, ‘Don’t lift [weights]’,” said the American.
“The dream would be to play Roger at Wimbledon and the nightmare would be to play Rafa at Roland Garros on clay, even though I grew up on clay and that was my best surface until I turned pro. But what Rafa did was insane.”
Nadal has not played since suffering a hip injury in his second round loss to Mackenzie McDonald at the Australian Open in January. The Mallorcan underwent surgery on the issue in June, having initially expected to be out for only six to eight weeks, and is currently training ahead of a proposed comeback in 2024.
Federer shared the court with Nadal in the final competitive match of his career as the legendary pair joined forces in doubles for Team Europe at the 2022 Laver Cup in London. The Swiss played his final singles match at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarter-finals.
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