“Rafael Nadal was such a bully" - John Isner on the on-court dominance of the "ridiculous" Spaniard

John Isner recently shared his experience of facing Rafael Nadal on the ATP tour. Isner faced the tennis legend nine times in his career and won only one match against him.

Isner retired from professional tennis after the 2023 US Open, where he was granted a wild card entry. He triumphed over Argentine Facundo Diaz Acosta 6-4, 6-3, 7-6(1) in the first round but was defeated by fellow American wildcard Michael Mmoh 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(7), 6-4, 7-6(3) in the second round.

Meanwhile, Nadal bid adieu to his illustrious tennis career that spanned over two decades at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals. In his final tournament, the former World No.1 represented Spain in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, where he faced off against the Netherlands' Botic van de Zandschulp in the opening singles match and was defeated 6-4,6-4.

During a recent episode of the Nothing Major podcast, Sam Querrey, John Isner, and Steve Johnson discussed Rafael Nadal's dominance in the sport. Querrey said that between Roger Federer, Nadal, and Novak Djokovic, the Spaniard was the most "intimidating" to play against. He then asked Isner:

“John, do you remember the first time you kind of watched Rafa play?"

Isner replied that the 22-time Grand Slam champion was "just ridiculous." He said,

“He was such a bully from that first ball onward. He was just ridiculous. I would put him as the greatest competitor in the history of sports. That's how highly I think of him.”

Their co-host Steve Johnson added his experience of facing Rafael Nadal in the second round of the 2015 Madrid Open, saying,

“There was a lot of fear in my eyes and not a lot of fear in his eyes. It was my first big match against these guys and I was like "I cannot be the guy who loses 0 and 0 [6-0, 6-0] with a cheesy moustache like out here.”

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A look into John Isner's head-to-head record against Rafael Nadal

2017 Laver Cup [Image Source: Getty Images]

John Isner faced Rafael Nadal nine times on the ATP Tour, with the Spaniard emerging victorious in eight of those matches. Isner managed to secure a win in only one of their encounters, at the 2017 Laver Cup.

Their only meeting at a Grand Slam event came in the first round of the 2011 French Open, where the former World No.1 triumphed 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-4. The Spaniard was the defending champion at the tournament and he went on to claim the title by defeating Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6(3), 5-7, 6-1 in the final

John Isner and Rafael Nadal's last encounter on the ATP Tour took place in the second round of the 2022 Italian Open, where Nadal emerged victorious 6-3, 6-1.