Toni Nadal names the players who can beat Rafael Nadal on clay but omits Roger Federer

Toni Nadal has named five players he believes can beat Rafael Nadal on clay, but Roger Federer wasn’t among them. 

Rafael Nadal has been in brilliant form on his favoured surface this season, winning both the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open without dropping a set.

In total, he has won his last 46 games on clay, but former coach Toni believes there are players his nephew needs to be extra wary of.

After naming Dominic Thiem as Nadal’s main clay rival, Toni added: “David Goffin, Juan Martin del Potro and Nick Kyrgios, but he has elbow issues. Same thing for Novak Djokovic.”

Federer’s omission from the list is likely more to do with his decision to skip clay court season this year than anything else.

“I don’t know if Rafa misses Roger for clashes on clay,” added Toni. “But it’s clear: Rafa would definitely be the favourite on clay.

“Federer wants to save his energy for the grass-court season, which worked well last year and made him stay injury-free.”