World number one Rafael Nadal believes that either Roger Federer or Rod Laver holds the distinction of being the greatest of all time in tennis. The Spaniard stated this despite having a 22-10 head to head series lead over Federer. Federer has accumulated a total of 17 Grand Slam titles with Nadal trailing in 13. Meanwhile, Laver has won the calendar Grand Slam twice in 1962 and 1969.
“I believe is 100 percent fair that people say [Federer is still the best ever] because he is today, and will be very difficult to any player to improve his numbers,” Nadal said. “Always say the same: Is not fair to analyze the history of any player only for the Grand Slams. Everyone who is around this world knows that the tennis is not only the Grand Slams. There are a lot of things outside the Grand Slams. Roger has an unbelievable record outside of Grand Slams. For sure, in Grand Slams, he the player who win more.
“But I never saw play Rod Laver, but I know his history. He was able to win all four [majors as an amateur] and all four [as a professional]. So today the question is not about me or Roger, will be more about Rod Laver or Roger. But I never had the chance to see Rod Laver play. And talking about my career, I am 27. I did more than what I ever dreamed. I hope to keep having chances to keep winning. I gonna work for that. And hopefully when I finish my career, we’ll see where I am in the history of tennis.”
