Toni Nadal: Who can beat Rafael Nadal on clay?

Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal has seen an illustrious career unfold before his eyes ever since he made his debut on the professional stage back in 2002 when he was merely 15-years-old. Since then, Nadal has gone on to win 16 grand slam titles and an Olympic gold as well among other titles. 

Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of this era, Nadal has enjoyed a level of success on the tennis court matched only by his fiercest rival and legend, Roger Federer. But Nadal’s uncle, Toni Nadal has reckoned that the Spaniard is untouchable as far as the clay court was concerned.

“Rafa is definitely better (than Zverev) on clay, but Zverev is already a little bit more dangerous on hard. Who can beat Nadal on clay? Dominic Thiem as main rival, and other names: David Goffin, Juan Martin del Potro and Nick Kyrgios, but he has elbow issues,” Toni told express.co.uk.

Toni further spoke highly of the German, who is currently ranked number three in the world rankings. He has lauded the German to be a strong player on the hard court after his recent performances on the global stage.

"Zverev is a very good player, he is the world No 3. His best surface is, in my eyes, the hard court, because he moves better than he does on clay, even if he won big titles like Rome,” said Toni Nadal.