Bernard Tomic paid the ultimate tribute to Rafael Nadal by stating that there is only one Rafa, before also praising the Spaniard’s personality and describing him as “a very humble and great person.”
This week, the Australian competed at the Bangalore Challenger in India, where won his opening match but then lost to Brandon Holt in the round-of-16.
While there, an Indian tennis journalist caught up with the 2011 Wimbledon quarterfinalist.
And when asked about Nadal, Tomic instantly brought up Nadal’s astonishing record of 14 French Open titles and highlighted that it will be extremely difficult for anyone to break that feat ever.
“There will never be a Rafa again, you know?” the four-time ATP champion told Sportskeeda.
“What he did in our sport is too good. I think no one for the next 100, 200 years is gonna win that many French Opens and this is an incredible person, so great success for him, right?”
Tomic: We all can learn from Nadal
Eight years ago, the Australian got a chance to play doubles with the Spanish tennis icon in Indian Wells.
Their debut as a pair went pretty solid as they beat Pablo Carreno Busta and Pedro Sousa 6-4 7-6 (7) before doubles specialists Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram edged them out in a very tight battle 3-6 7-6 (4) 11-9.
After praising Nadal’s on-court greatness, Tomic also had nothing but good to say about the 38-year-old’s personality.
“Yeah, I was pretty good with Rafa and we managed to play doubles once I think,” the Australian recalled.
“We can all learn from, you know, Rafa and these tough guys, they were the champions of our sport.
“But he was a really humble person, not just as a player, he was a great person off the court.
“So, you know, I wish him the best in his continued life, and all the success he has had.”
After constantly struggling with injuries in his last few years on the Tour, Nadal retired after the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in November.
Tennis World USA