The Spaniard believes tennis is far fairer than other sports despite always being in the spotlight (Getty)

Rafael Nadal has dismissed Victoria Azarenka’s suggestion that the men’s game should switch to three-set matches and believes the gender pay gap in tennis is fairer than in other sports.

All four majors, as well as big tournaments like Indian Wells, have awarded equal prize money since 2007, though outside of those events the pay gap remains huge.

There have been suggestions that women should switch to five sets in Grand Slams to match the men, but Azarenka believes it should be the other way around, tweeting that matches would be ‘a much better quality of tennis’ with players less exhausted in the latter stages.

Men should just play best of three in my opinion! Will be much better quality of tennis and hopefully no ruined finals or semifinals because of the exhaustion… like has happened quite a bit https://t.co/KLafGS3Bzn — victoria azarenka (@vika7) April 24, 2019




But Nadal has rejected that notion and is happy with the current structure of the men’s game and says he is tired of having to defend the sport.

‘Why does she want us to play best of three? We’re happy playing best of five,’ said the Spaniard after beating David Ferrer at the Barcelona Open.

‘It doesn’t matter the prize money, or equal prize money or not, that’s your debate it’s not our debate. It’s interesting that you are always debating on equal prize money in tennis when we are probably the only sport in the world where we are almost equal prize money in most of the events.

‘So I don’t know why you don’t debate about football, basketball, about all the other important sports that women are miles away from the men. You always debate here, in our sport, when we support more the women tour than any other sport in the world.

Nadal saw off countryman Ferrer in the last 16 of the Barcelona Open on Thursday (Getty)

‘So I’m a little bit tired thinking about we are against the girls. No, not at all.

‘Another thing is who sells more, who sells less, that is another debate, but it’s not about men or women it’s about persons and that’s all. We are the same, somebody deserve more and other ones deserve less.

‘If you are in the same company as another man, and I am doing better in my job than the other man, I have to win more than the other. It doesn’t matter if it’s a girl or man and I’m a little bit tired about this debate all the time.’