The players we heard from, including world No 1 Novak Djokovic, almost unanimously described playing Nadal on clay as “the toughest test in tennis”.
Ruud’s words call to mind Andy Roddick’s famous “first your legs, then your soul” description of Novak Djokovic, so what exactly makes playing Nadal specifically so terrifying?
GO DEEPER Why you should be excited about this year's tennis clay court swingLet’s start with the ultimate, ultimate test — playing Nadal on Chatrier.
Nadal beat Monfils in the 2016 Monte Carlo final (Michael Steele/Getty Images)Corentin Moutet, the world No 79, played Nadal at the French Open two years ago.
But perhaps it’s fitting that the only person who has properly got the better of Nadal on clay is Rafael Nadal himself.
Persons:
Rafael Nadal’s, ” Casper Ruud, Rafael Nadal, Philippe, Chatrier, Roland Garros, Nadal, Ruud, Novak Djokovic, ”, Monfils, Tim Clayton, Corbis, Karen Khachanov, Andy Roddick’s, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Arthur Ashe, Djokovic, Rod Laver, — Djokovic, “, ” Nadal, It’s, Novak, Alexander Zverev, Zverev, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Philippe Chatrier, can’t, ” Zverev, Nadal’s, Sebastian Korda, “ He’s, ” Korda, Korda, Julian Finney, Clive Brunskill, haven’t, Kecmanovic, Rafa, ” Khachanov, “ It’s, there’s, Federer, Grigor Dimitrov, —, ” Dimitrov, Neal Simpson, ” Bergs, Monte, Michael Steele, Moutet, I’ve, Yannick Hanfmann, Nadal didn’t, ” Hanfmann, Bergs, ” Ruud, “ I’m, Fabio Fognini, Andy, Roger, Nole, Hubert Hurkacz, Mike Hewitt, Mateo Villalba, Dan Goldfarb
Organizations:
Nadal, Getty, PlayStation, Centre Court, Federer, Monte Carlo, Wimbledon, Athletic
Locations:
Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome, German, Chatrier, Paris, Australia