October 12, 2024 • 11 mins
Rafael Nadal has announced his retirement from professional tennis.
Tennis correspondent Graeme Agars has spent the majority of his career covering Nadal, and he joined Piney to pay tribute to the player’s legendary career.
“He was spectacular and had most guys beaten before they even went out on court.”
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Raffernadale has announced his retirement from professional tennis.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Nadal It's fourteen and twenty two sistereen. The legend that
is Raphael Nadal continues to grow here.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Nadal's thirty eight now. He's won twenty two major titles,
including fourteen at the French Open, but has struggled with
various injuries over the last couple of years. Only Novak
Djokovic with twenty four has won more major titles. Raffernadal's
final outing will be for Spain in the Davis Cup
finals next month. There wouldn't be too many people, I
don't reckon who have seen more of Raffa Adhal than
(00:55):
Graham AGAs who joins us Now, Graham, where does Raffa
sit among the great players you've watched down the years.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Well, he's locked down the category of best clay ever,
stealing that from beyond Borg and doing it, as you
said in style fourteen French Open championships. In fact, if
you look at his clay court record, there was a
period of time between April two thousand and four and
May two thousand and seven where he was unbeaten on
(01:25):
clay anywhere in the world. He won eighty one matches
during that streach stretch. Nobody has ever come close to that,
so he certainly locked in the clay court side of it.
The other side, I think the Grand's fame rankings, let's
call him twenty four Novak, twenty two Rufa and twenty
(01:46):
Roger Federer speak for themselves. You can pick or choose
your favorite amongst those, but I think those three guys
drove each other through that era which is finally coming
to an end. Roger's already on the sidelines, Rufa about
to be, and who knows what Novak he's getten up
there as well.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
What made refer so potent on clay.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Well, first of all, stamina. I mean you could see
how strong the guide was. Secondly, he came in in
an era where they could fiddle around with the strings
in the racket, and they had a bigger head in
the racket, bigger the bag played with. For example, who
was previously considered I guess the master of the clay.
(02:34):
And in addition to his strength and stamina, he hit
with enormous spin, so that not only was the ball
coming at you at speed, but when I hit the
ground it sort of launched into you. And it just
made him wharing to play. And the fact that he
could run all day and all night if he had to,
(02:57):
just made him the hardest guy in the dirt to beat.
He was spectacular and had most guys beaten before they
even went out on court.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
It wasn't just Roland Garris, of course. You know a
couple of Australian Opens, a couple of Wimbledon titles, four
at the US Open. So was it a stamina in
fitness again, which were the bed rock for those titles.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Well, that show's adaptability too. I mean he wasn't just
a dirt baller. He could change his game, as he said,
to win two times at Wimbledon and then you know,
pick up wins on the hard courts at the Australian
Open the US Open as well show just how versatile
he was. He still sort of played the same way
that he could adapt this game, including improving his serve
(03:41):
for grass to get results as there as well as
on the dirt. So if you look at his wind
loss career, which is probably the best indicator of how
he played throughout his whole career on any surface indoor, outdoor, grass, hardcourt,
or clay win loss record of one thousand and eighty
(04:02):
wins just two hundred and twenty seven losses, So that
is dominant guy, not just on the clay. He also,
in addition to you know, winning those twenty two Grand
Slam singles titles, had ninety two singles wins on the
ATB Tour, led stain to four Datas Cup victories, and
he's just one of eight male players in the history
(04:25):
of tennis to won all four Grand Slams at least
once in their career. So you know, he's in a
very very elevated category.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Yeah, the numbers are astonishing. Let's talk about his battles
with the other two, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. A
twenty four to sixteen record against Roger Federer, that's overall
ten to four in Grand Slams, against Djokovic eleven to
seven a Grand slams, but overall twenty nine wins to
Djokovic's thirty one. Why did he have greater trouble with Djokovic?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
I think he figured out how to play Roger Federer.
In fact, you know when Federer's dominating the game. Rufa
was the first one to figure out that if you
kept attacking Roger's single handed backhand, you would certainly lose
points because Roger could flip him over the net in
any direction, but you would probably win more points than
(05:22):
you would lose. And that's when he started to beat
Roger Federer on a regular occasion. But Novak was kind
of between Federer and Nadal and the way he played.
I read a piece the other day from one of
the former coaches. Can't remember his name now because it
was an insignificant name to me, but he had been
(05:44):
a hitting partner of all three players at some stage
during his time in tennis, and he was asked to
describe the players. If he had a blindfold on, would
he know who he was playing. So he started with
Federer and he said, Federer, you could tell by the
sheer precision of the strike of the ball. It was
(06:04):
just perfect every time it came to you. He said,
with Ruffa, it was the shot that just bounced off
the court and leapt into you. And this is the
most interesting comment of ball. He said. Novak had an
arrogance about the way he hit the ball, and his
conclusion was Novak was actually the best player of all
(06:27):
three in terms of just sheer winning ability, and he
did it by carrying a sort of an arrogance on
court and being able to hit shots like Federer and
like Nadal if he had to. So there was nowhere
you could put him where he had a weakness, and
I think that's why Ruffa and many other players struggled
(06:49):
against him.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Gee, that's great insight. Left handers. Is he the greatest
left hander? McEnroe, Connors, Liver? Is he the greatest left handed?
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Grime? Well, here's something most people don't know. He's actually
a right handed and he plays tennis. He plays tennis
left handed. So did you gon't get it autograph? He's
not signing with his which is weird. And I think
he plays golf right handed as well. You've got to
put him up there. I mean, it's so difficult to
(07:18):
compare errors because you can only beat the players in
front of you, you know, so Labor didn't have to
beat Fedder, for example. So just put him up there
as one of the great all time players and on clay, yes,
the best, the best left hander of all time for sure.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
In the last two years. Unfortunately for ref and Adal
have seen age and his body catch up with him.
I guess ricked by injury. Did he hang on for
a bit long?
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Great?
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Yeah, this is the longest retirement I've ever seen. It's
taken three years. You know, where the people out on
the road regularly. You know. I'd pretty much given up
on Rafa three years ago, but admired him for his
courage and his determination, his sheer love of the game
to keep going. Nobody was ever critical about it. But
(08:09):
if you look at him as far as a physical
specimen is concerned, I mean, he was a monster, wasn't
He was so strong, and he wore those sleeveless shirts
to show off his biceps and and all that sort
of stuff. But injuries foot, ankle, hip, knee, hamstring, and
(08:29):
you can toss in appendicitis, and he had to appendix
out in two thousand and four. So I mean, the
guy kept the doctors happy because there was always something
going on. And part of that was because of the
ferocious nature that he not only played the game, but
he practiced exactly the same. I went through many rougher
(08:50):
practice sessions and came away exhausted because he played them
just like he did play matches. I mean, it was
full on all the time. So it was inevitable that
injuries would finally force him out of the game, because otherwise,
you know, he would have played till he was seventy.
But that's what's happened. He's got so many problems and
(09:11):
he just gets one right and another one flares up.
But he's just got to give up the game. But
you know, he's done, okay, one hundred and thirty five
million US dollars in prize money and a networth including
sponsorships estimated at a quarter of a billion US dollars,
So he's banked a lot of change during that career,
and a lot of people have enjoyed paying to watch
(09:34):
him play.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Yep, I think he's going to be okay, just to
finish raff of the person, what was he like to
deal with? How did you observe the way he carried
himself around the tennis circuit.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
Yeah, second to none, right up there with Roger feder.
He first of all, he cared about the game. He
was humble enough to care about the people in the game.
He always respected his opponents, and Raffa never ceased to
applaud his opponent after they'd lost to him. When they
left the court, you would have seen it. Everybody sees it.
(10:08):
He used to go back to his chair and when
they left he would stand and applaud, which gave an
indication of his respect for the other players, and the
players respected him so much, so much so that he
spent six years right in the prime of his career
as a member of the very powerful ATP Player Council,
which really provided the governance for the game year in
(10:31):
and year out. So just a wonderful ambassador for tennis.
And he'll be missed, but he won't go away. Ruffa
will be around the game one way or the other
going forward because he just loves the game so much.
But you know, I don't recall ever having a bad
moment with Ruffa. He always came into the press conferences
(10:52):
after a loss, even if it really hurt him. He
was always trying to give a good answer, even though
he were speaking not in his native language. And as
I said, he had the respect of pretty much everybody
in the game because of the way he carried himself throughout.
Right up there with Roger Ted that wasn't surprising that
those two guys, Apart from a couple of moments between them,
(11:16):
you know, we're the best of friends and share a
great reverence for the game of tenants.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Yeah, I'm not sure we'll see the like of him again.
Thanks so much for your time this afternoon. Graham really
appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
It's a pleasure. Jason, Thanks, no, thank you, mate.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
That is Graham A Gas reflecting on the career of
refin adult.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to news talks'd be weekends from midday, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Raffernadale has announced his retirement from professional tennis.
Speaker 3 (00:20):
Nadal It's fourteen and twenty two sistereen. The legend that
is Raphael Nadal continues to grow here.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Nadal's thirty eight now. He's won twenty two major titles,
including fourteen at the French Open, but has struggled with
various injuries over the last couple of years. Only Novak
Djokovic with twenty four has won more major titles. Raffernadal's
final outing will be for Spain in the Davis Cup
finals next month. There wouldn't be too many people, I
don't reckon who have seen more of Raffa Adhal than
(00:55):
Graham AGAs who joins us Now, Graham, where does Raffa
sit among the great players you've watched down the years.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
Well, he's locked down the category of best clay ever,
stealing that from beyond Borg and doing it, as you
said in style fourteen French Open championships. In fact, if
you look at his clay court record, there was a
period of time between April two thousand and four and
May two thousand and seven where he was unbeaten on
(01:25):
clay anywhere in the world. He won eighty one matches
during that streach stretch. Nobody has ever come close to that,
so he certainly locked in the clay court side of it.
The other side, I think the Grand's fame rankings, let's
call him twenty four Novak, twenty two Rufa and twenty
(01:46):
Roger Federer speak for themselves. You can pick or choose
your favorite amongst those, but I think those three guys
drove each other through that era which is finally coming
to an end. Roger's already on the sidelines, Rufa about
to be, and who knows what Novak he's getten up
there as well.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
What made refer so potent on clay.
Speaker 4 (02:12):
Well, first of all, stamina. I mean you could see
how strong the guide was. Secondly, he came in in
an era where they could fiddle around with the strings
in the racket, and they had a bigger head in
the racket, bigger the bag played with. For example, who
was previously considered I guess the master of the clay.
(02:34):
And in addition to his strength and stamina, he hit
with enormous spin, so that not only was the ball
coming at you at speed, but when I hit the
ground it sort of launched into you. And it just
made him wharing to play. And the fact that he
could run all day and all night if he had to,
(02:57):
just made him the hardest guy in the dirt to beat.
He was spectacular and had most guys beaten before they
even went out on court.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
It wasn't just Roland Garris, of course. You know a
couple of Australian Opens, a couple of Wimbledon titles, four
at the US Open. So was it a stamina in
fitness again, which were the bed rock for those titles.
Speaker 4 (03:19):
Well, that show's adaptability too. I mean he wasn't just
a dirt baller. He could change his game, as he said,
to win two times at Wimbledon and then you know,
pick up wins on the hard courts at the Australian
Open the US Open as well show just how versatile
he was. He still sort of played the same way
that he could adapt this game, including improving his serve
(03:41):
for grass to get results as there as well as
on the dirt. So if you look at his wind
loss career, which is probably the best indicator of how
he played throughout his whole career on any surface indoor, outdoor, grass, hardcourt,
or clay win loss record of one thousand and eighty
(04:02):
wins just two hundred and twenty seven losses, So that
is dominant guy, not just on the clay. He also,
in addition to you know, winning those twenty two Grand
Slam singles titles, had ninety two singles wins on the
ATB Tour, led stain to four Datas Cup victories, and
he's just one of eight male players in the history
(04:25):
of tennis to won all four Grand Slams at least
once in their career. So you know, he's in a
very very elevated category.
Speaker 2 (04:35):
Yeah, the numbers are astonishing. Let's talk about his battles
with the other two, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. A
twenty four to sixteen record against Roger Federer, that's overall
ten to four in Grand Slams, against Djokovic eleven to
seven a Grand slams, but overall twenty nine wins to
Djokovic's thirty one. Why did he have greater trouble with Djokovic?
Speaker 4 (05:01):
I think he figured out how to play Roger Federer.
In fact, you know when Federer's dominating the game. Rufa
was the first one to figure out that if you
kept attacking Roger's single handed backhand, you would certainly lose
points because Roger could flip him over the net in
any direction, but you would probably win more points than
(05:22):
you would lose. And that's when he started to beat
Roger Federer on a regular occasion. But Novak was kind
of between Federer and Nadal and the way he played.
I read a piece the other day from one of
the former coaches. Can't remember his name now because it
was an insignificant name to me, but he had been
(05:44):
a hitting partner of all three players at some stage
during his time in tennis, and he was asked to
describe the players. If he had a blindfold on, would
he know who he was playing. So he started with
Federer and he said, Federer, you could tell by the
sheer precision of the strike of the ball. It was
(06:04):
just perfect every time it came to you. He said,
with Ruffa, it was the shot that just bounced off
the court and leapt into you. And this is the
most interesting comment of ball. He said. Novak had an
arrogance about the way he hit the ball, and his
conclusion was Novak was actually the best player of all
(06:27):
three in terms of just sheer winning ability, and he
did it by carrying a sort of an arrogance on
court and being able to hit shots like Federer and
like Nadal if he had to. So there was nowhere
you could put him where he had a weakness, and
I think that's why Ruffa and many other players struggled
(06:49):
against him.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
Gee, that's great insight. Left handers. Is he the greatest
left hander? McEnroe, Connors, Liver? Is he the greatest left handed?
Speaker 4 (06:57):
Grime? Well, here's something most people don't know. He's actually
a right handed and he plays tennis. He plays tennis
left handed. So did you gon't get it autograph? He's
not signing with his which is weird. And I think
he plays golf right handed as well. You've got to
put him up there. I mean, it's so difficult to
(07:18):
compare errors because you can only beat the players in
front of you, you know, so Labor didn't have to
beat Fedder, for example. So just put him up there
as one of the great all time players and on clay, yes,
the best, the best left hander of all time for sure.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
In the last two years. Unfortunately for ref and Adal
have seen age and his body catch up with him.
I guess ricked by injury. Did he hang on for
a bit long?
Speaker 1 (07:45):
Great?
Speaker 4 (07:46):
Yeah, this is the longest retirement I've ever seen. It's
taken three years. You know, where the people out on
the road regularly. You know. I'd pretty much given up
on Rafa three years ago, but admired him for his
courage and his determination, his sheer love of the game
to keep going. Nobody was ever critical about it. But
(08:09):
if you look at him as far as a physical
specimen is concerned, I mean, he was a monster, wasn't
He was so strong, and he wore those sleeveless shirts
to show off his biceps and and all that sort
of stuff. But injuries foot, ankle, hip, knee, hamstring, and
(08:29):
you can toss in appendicitis, and he had to appendix
out in two thousand and four. So I mean, the
guy kept the doctors happy because there was always something
going on. And part of that was because of the
ferocious nature that he not only played the game, but
he practiced exactly the same. I went through many rougher
(08:50):
practice sessions and came away exhausted because he played them
just like he did play matches. I mean, it was
full on all the time. So it was inevitable that
injuries would finally force him out of the game, because otherwise,
you know, he would have played till he was seventy.
But that's what's happened. He's got so many problems and
(09:11):
he just gets one right and another one flares up.
But he's just got to give up the game. But
you know, he's done, okay, one hundred and thirty five
million US dollars in prize money and a networth including
sponsorships estimated at a quarter of a billion US dollars,
So he's banked a lot of change during that career,
and a lot of people have enjoyed paying to watch
(09:34):
him play.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
Yep, I think he's going to be okay, just to
finish raff of the person, what was he like to
deal with? How did you observe the way he carried
himself around the tennis circuit.
Speaker 4 (09:47):
Yeah, second to none, right up there with Roger feder.
He first of all, he cared about the game. He
was humble enough to care about the people in the game.
He always respected his opponents, and Raffa never ceased to
applaud his opponent after they'd lost to him. When they
left the court, you would have seen it. Everybody sees it.
(10:08):
He used to go back to his chair and when
they left he would stand and applaud, which gave an
indication of his respect for the other players, and the
players respected him so much, so much so that he
spent six years right in the prime of his career
as a member of the very powerful ATP Player Council,
which really provided the governance for the game year in
(10:31):
and year out. So just a wonderful ambassador for tennis.
And he'll be missed, but he won't go away. Ruffa
will be around the game one way or the other
going forward because he just loves the game so much.
But you know, I don't recall ever having a bad
moment with Ruffa. He always came into the press conferences
(10:52):
after a loss, even if it really hurt him. He
was always trying to give a good answer, even though
he were speaking not in his native language. And as
I said, he had the respect of pretty much everybody
in the game because of the way he carried himself throughout.
Right up there with Roger Ted that wasn't surprising that
those two guys, Apart from a couple of moments between them,
(11:16):
you know, we're the best of friends and share a
great reverence for the game of tenants.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
Yeah, I'm not sure we'll see the like of him again.
Thanks so much for your time this afternoon. Graham really
appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (11:26):
It's a pleasure. Jason, Thanks, no, thank you, mate.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
That is Graham A Gas reflecting on the career of
refin adult.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to news talks'd be weekends from midday, or follow the
podcast on iHeartRadio
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