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Former player Yannick Noah has picked Rafael Nadal as his favorite among the Big 3, thanks to his humble nature and the way he genuinely respects others.
Noah defeated Mats Wilander in the final of the 1983 French Open to lift his only singles Grand Slam title. He also reached his career-best ranking of No. 3 in 1986.
In a conversation with La Nacion, the 63-year-old Frenchman stated that tennis was not so interesting over the last two decades when Roger Federer, Nadal, and Novak Djokovic dominated the sport.
"As a spectator, I had less interest because the game was the same, the finals were the same, it was always the same players," he said. "The emotion was always the same. When I go to see a show, the only thing that interests me is the emotion. I didn't feel that emotion during many of those matches. That said, they are three different personalities."
Noah labeled Federer 'an artist', praising him for all of his spectacular achievements.
"Federer was an artist," he said. "It's very difficult to survive in such a powerful and strong sport being an artist, which was Roger's virtue. That's something I admire. He did things with the racket that I never saw. Rod Laver did some things, [John] McEnroe did some things, but Federer did everything the greats did and more."
Noah, however, said he favored Nadal over the other two greats due to his humility.
"Rafa, of the three, is the one I like the most because he respects the ballboys, the transport people, the people when there are no cameras. If you think about things beyond what people measure, Rafa is number one by far. Rafa won 22 Grand Slams and when you see him, he is still the same humble guy he has always been. For that reason, out of the three, he's my favorite," he opined.
Noah stated that he felt least connected to Djokovic, and reasoned that Federer and Nadal were more charismatic.
"Djokovic? I'm not sorry, but I don't know for what reason. The other two have more charisma. I don't feel attraction for him. When he wins a match point, I don't connect with him. If I'm walking and someone says to me, 'Hey, Yannick, do you want to have coffee with me?' And I wonder why people want to connect. With Nole, I don't know if it will happen," he opined.
Injured Rafael Nadal will not play French Open 2023
Last week, Rafael Nadal announced his withdrawal from the 2023 French Open after failing to recover from a hip injury that he suffered at the Australian Open in January. This will be the first time since 2004 that the 14-time Roland Garros champion will not play in Paris, where he has a 112-3 record, with a winning percentage of 97%.
The Spanish legend's record for the 2023 season currently stands at 1-3, with his solitary win coming against Jack Draper in the first round in Melbourne. He has been dealing with numerous injuries in the last couple of years, beginning with his chronic foot problem at the 2021 French Open, an abdominal muscle tear during the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, and now the hip injury.
He is set to drop out of the ATP Top 100 as soon as Roland Garros concludes, where he will drop 2,000 points.
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