Former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash has revealed Rafael Nadal is the one person he would choose to play a match for his life as he declared the Spanish legend played “like nobody else.”
Nadal brought the curtain down on his incredible 23-year career after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga last month.
The 38-year-old Mallorcan was beaten by Botic van de Zandschulp in his last-ever match as Spain lost to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the team event.
The former world No 1 won his 14th Roland Garros crown, 22nd Grand Slam and 92nd and final career title at the 2022 French Open.
Following Nadal’s farewell, Cash hailed the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s unique game and the way he continuously improved.
“Nadal has brought something to the game of tennis that we’ve never seen before. I always say that he’s a he’s a turbo charged Guillermo Vilas,” the Australian said in an interview with Tennis Majors.
“Vilas came out hit more top spin than anybody’s seen. He was fitter than anybody had seen. He just used to run, run non stop. He used to train like crazy. You know, he’s obviously a turbo charged version of that. But we’ve never really seen anybody play like Nadal, though.
“I mean, he had modern rackets. He had his follow through on his forehand. It was unusual. Just had so much top spin. And the competitiveness.
“He’s very, very special. I’ve always said that if I had one person to play for my life, one match somewhere, it would be Nadal. Because if an alien came down from outer space and said, ‘OK, I know how to play tennis. I’ll beat [anyone], give me your best’, you’d throw Nadal out there. Go on, handle his slice serve, try to handle this top spin.
“He just plays like nobody else. His competitiveness, ferociousness. Every season was interesting because you’d watch him, you’d go, ‘what’s he changed now? What’s he improved now?’
“He just kept doing that. He kept changing his serve, getting it better. Kept doing different tactics, doing this, this and that.
“Top players tend to do that. You go, either improve, or you stand still, as they say, and he was great at that.”