"He was working on something else": Former doubles French Open winner highlights major difference in training methods of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal

Former doubles French Open winner Jose Cuevas has revealed a major difference in the training methods of former world number one Roger Federer and Spain’s Rafael Nadal. Both players are regarded as amongst the greatest in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category.

Former doubles French Open winner Cuevas, who lifted the title in 2008, has been recently quoted in a report by Daily Express where he stated one major difference in the training methods of Nadal and Federer. The 38-year-old, who lifted the doubles Roland Garros title in 2008 with partner Luis Horna after defeating the pair of Canada’s Daniel Nestor and Serbia’s Nenad Zimonjić in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-3, was of the opinion that the Spaniard had more intensity more intensity while training compared to ‘least interested’ Federer.

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“The first time we [Cuevas and Nadal] trained together was in Hamburg, and I won a set during that training,” he said. “From then on, he invited me to train with him about 25 times in the following six months, to win sets and to make it clear to me that winning that set had been a fluke. Very different from Roger (Federer). I would play with him 10 sets, win all 10 and because he was practising other things, he wasn't the least bit interested in the result. Rafa, on the other hand, was always training that competitive side: no matter how the training was going, the number one objective was to win, no matter how hard he was working on something else.”

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Federer retired from the sport back in September 2022 after struggling with fitness concerns. He was the first player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category to win more than 15 Grand Slams. He was also the first to lift 20 major titles in the men’s singles category in the Open era. On the other hand, Nadal has already announced that he will retire from professional tennis after the upcoming Davis Cup. The 38-year-old will finish the career with 22 Grand Slam titles.