ATP star Martin Klizan has highlighted what he believes to be the key difference between tennis greats Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic and Nadal are the most successful male tennis players in history in terms of Grand Slam success, winning 24 and 22 major singles titles respectively.
Their 60 matches against each other make their rivalry the most played in ATP Tour history, and the two both hold countless tour records.
However, former world No 24 Klizan believes there are differences between the two in terms of how they play.
The Slovakian, currently returning to tour after a three-year retirement, believes players need to adopt contrasting tactical approaches to face both men.
“With Rafa, you know that he is always going to make the match hell for you. Nothing is free,” he said, speaking to Punto de Break.
“With Novak, you know that you have to be very precise in your shots; if you don’t get it, he is going to destroy you. With Rafa you can fight, you can also hit winners.
“With Djokovic, it is difficult to hit winners, but you have to be very precise. You need to use the body serve, mix everything with the slice, the tactics are a bit different.”
Klizan is one of the few players to have picked up wins over both Djokovic in Nadal.
He defeated current world No 4 Djokovic in three sets at the Barcelona Open in 2018, having lost his four previous matches against the Serbian, while he beat Nadal at the China Open in 2014.
Klizan admitted he was particularly proud of his performance against Nadal in Beijing a decade ago, as well as his four-set loss to the Spaniard at Roland Garros earlier that year.
He added: “I have a USB file from that tournament with all the matches. I was drinking wine, watching the matches from that tournament, and I found it very fun to watch, because I had so much variety in my tennis.
“If you put yourself in the shoes of the audience, I think it was very interesting tennis. I told myself that that game was very good, I really liked the style of tennis in those matches, and that motivated me a lot.
“I remember I won a set against him [Nadal] at Roland Garros, after that match he only lost sets in the semi-finals against Djokovic.
“I could have won the second set of that match, it was very close, I remember it perfectly. For me, playing those kinds of matches was not difficult, because I loved big matches and I always showed a fantastic level against the best.
“They were a bit scared of what I could do (laughs). I always played very well. Against lower-ranked guys, I played badly; against the best, I played great.”
