Federer has been terrific in 2017 (Picture: Getty)

Toni Nadal is convinced Roger Federer is the greatest male tennis player of all time rather than his nephew and insists the Swiss is on another level to other greats in the sport.

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Federer and Nadal will battle it out to end the year as world No. 1, with the Spaniard currently topping the ATP rankings.

The pair have enjoyed a brilliant 2017, sharing all four Grand Slams among themselves, with Federer maintaining his three-Slam lead over his nearest rival in the all-time list of Grand Slam champions.

Most Grand Slam titles 19 – Federer

16 – Nadal

14 – Sampras

12 – Djokovic

12 – Emerson

Nadal is not the GOAT in the eyes of his uncle (Picture: Getty)

While Federer himself cast doubt over whether he should be considered the GOAT, Nadal’s uncle and long-time coach is under no illusions that he is a class above other pretenders to the throne, although he did admit that Rafa could overtake him.




‘He [Federer] is the best in history,’ he told Spanish radio outlet Cadena SER.

‘I know few athletes who dominate his sport as much as Roger does.

‘Rafael is also up there but there are other players who are also among the best … if in a few years Rafa continues to play well, Federer retires and Rafa wins more Grand Slams and we will talk, but I think now the best is Roger.’

Uncle Toni thinks Nadal is behind Federer in the GOAT rankings (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Uncle Toni is also convinced Federer is the heavy favourite to win the ATP World Tour Finals at the end of the season, as the Swiss looks to put pressure on Nadal at the top of the rankings.

‘Roger is at a fantastic level,’ he added. ‘He made a change in his game that seems to be very smart to me. And now he is much more aggressive.

‘It is much harder to play against Roger, especially on hard-courts where I think he is the best player.

‘Obviously he is the big favourite at the ATP Finals in London.’

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