“Never worried about Roger Federer blowing you off the court, Rafael Nadal you were afraid” - Sam Querrey on Spaniard’s “intimidating” nature

Sam Querrey recently detailed how he was never worried about Roger Federer blowing him off the court like Rafael Nadal. The American was joined by his compatriots Steve Johnson and John Isner for a discussion about the Big 3.

Queerey, Johnson, Isner, and Jack Sock, host the podcast Nothing Major. The American quartet of former tennis professionals discuss the current, past, and future of tennis on the podcast. They recently discussed the "most intimidating" member of the Big 3.

During the discussion, Sam Querrey, a former World No. 11 who won 10 titles, talked about how he used to "beg" that he would avoid the Spaniard in the opening rounds of the French Open. He said,

"I remember having that fear early in my career, specially on clay, of losing 0-6, 0-6. It's like, I was just begging when draws came out, like, please, please don't put me against Rafa, like, first round of the French Open. It's like, I lose 0-6, 0-6."

Querrey also recalled his opening round meeting at the 2008 Roland Garros, where he lost to Roger Federer, and said that he was never afraid of Federer "blowing him off the court," while he found Rafael Nadal 'intimidating.' Querrey's head-to-head records read 0-4 against the Swiss maestro and 1-5 against the Spaniard.

He said,

"I played Roger in my second year of the French Open and I lost 4-6, 4-6, 4-6, but you were never worried about Roger blowing you off the court. Rafa you were kinda afraid of it early.

"Yeah, he just got like more intimidating and more dominant, obviously, like, with time but the dude was just a machine."

Interestingly, Querrey's podcast co-host John Isner is one of three men to have taken Nadal to a five-setter at the French Open, along with Novak Djokovic and Felix-Auger Aliassime. He achieved this feat in the opening round in 2011.

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"It's why Rafael Nadal is the greatest competitor in the history of sport" - John Isner hails Spaniard after reminiscing about his 2022 French Open triumph

The two men after the French Open final - Source: Getty

At the 2022 French Open, Rafael Nadal struggled with his fitness as a chronic foot problem started acting up. Regardless, he still managed to reach the final, ousting the likes of Novak Djokovic and Felix-Auger Aliassime en route. He decimated Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-3, 6-0 in the final to capture his 14th Roland Garros title.

Talking about the match in a recent episode of Nothing Major, Ruud said that he while he felt early on that he had a chance at pulling off an upset, that belief went away after the 38-year-old came out all guns blazing. Ruud said,

"When we started the match, quickly the belief went away after a few sets. I guess when you're down, anything can happen. He can fall, break his leg, his wrists, or whatever. But when you're down two sets to love in the final with Rafa, what belief is left?"

He also recalled the Spaniard was on crutches the following day:

"I met him the day after at the airport, he couldn't walk to board the plane. It was pretty crazy."

Upon hearing this, John Isner had only the greatest compliments for Nadal. Isner said,

"It's why he is the greatest competitor in the history of sport."

That triumph turned out to be Rafael Nadal's 22nd and final Grand Slam win of his career. He hung up his racket at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals this year after Team Spain's defeat to Team Netherlands in the quarterfinals.