'I’ve never seen anyone like him' - John McEnroe hails 'unbelievable' Rafael Nadal ahead of 2022 US Open
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Updated 19/07/2022 at 12:46 GMT
“I’ve never seen anyone like him,” John McEnroe told Tennis365. "I thought Jimmy Connors tried hard until I saw Rafael Nadal, this is insane. And that’s the greatest quality he has, by far. I mean, the guy’s an unbelievable player, we all know that. But the fact that he can go out there and give that type of effort is something that people aspire to, but it’s very difficult to do."
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John McEnroe has said he has "never seen anyone like" Rafael Nadal as he paid tribute to the 22-time Grand Slam champion ahead of the US Open.
The tennis legend paid tribute to the Spaniard's battling qualities and status as a role model for young players with one major remaining in what has been a remarkable comeback season for the 36-year-old.
Nadal, who won the Australian Open and French Open earlier in the year to add to his astonishing tally of Grand Slam singles titles, had to withdraw ahead of his Wimbledon semi-final with Nick Kyrgios after suffering one injury too many.
Despite that disappointment for Nadal with his great rival, Novak Djokovic, able to move to within one major title of his tally after securing his seventh title at the All England Club, McEnroe spoke in glowing terms about the attributes that make him so special.
“I’ve never seen anyone like him,” McEnroe told Tennis365. "I thought Jimmy Connors tried hard until I saw Rafael Nadal, this is insane. And that’s the greatest quality he has, by far.
“I mean, the guy’s an unbelievable player, we all know that. But the fact that he can go out there and give that type of effort, you know, match in and match out, game in and game out, is something that people aspire to, but it’s very difficult to do.
“Otherwise, everyone would do it. I mean, you just say, well go to Nick Kyrgios and say ‘go out and give an effort, you’ll be No. 2, No. 3 in the world. Well, if it was that easy, I guess he would do it. But you know, for him, it isn’t."
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Speaking at Wimbledon about the differences between Nadal and Djokovic, McEnroe provided some fascinating insights into their different attitudes and personalities.
"Well, they are totally opposite approaches,” McEnroe told the BBC. "Djokovic talks openly about wanting to have the most [Grand Slam singles titles] and Nadal acts like nothing matters except going out and giving an effort every point and every match.
"It seems to have worked pretty well for both of them if you go by the history and how many Grand Slams they have won, so whatever makes you happy and whatever brings out the best in you is probably what you should do.
"Sometimes I suppose it could get tiring to opponents to hear Rafa say ‘I didn’t feel my foot, I couldn’t even feel it!’
"You looked pretty good to me at the French and now all of a sudden he did some other procedure that I don’t even know what it’s called.
"Whatever it was and whatever it is, he seems to feel pretty good and doesn’t have any pain and it’s unbelievable, and also I am glad they are on different sides.”
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