"He's overachieved more than anybody" - Mats Wilander reacts to Rafael Nadal's retirement announcement

After announcing he would be retiring at the end of the 2024 season, Spanish legend Rafael Nadal has been labeled "an overachiever" by Eurosport analyst and former World No.1 Mats Wilander.

Nadal announced he would be hanging up his racket at this year's Davis Cup Finals in Malaga in November. Despite being stalled by injury over the last two years and several times in his career, the 22-time Grand Slam champion's fighting spirit has never wavered as he has left it all on the tennis court.

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Wilander believes Nadal's competitive spirit puts him in a category by himself

In an appearance on Eurosport following Nadal's retirement announcement, Wilander examined the Spaniard's career, highlighting the Spaniard's brilliance and achievements despite his injury history.

"Rafa, you could talk about overachievers," said Wilander. "To me, he overachieved a little bit with all the injuries that he had. He's unbelievably talented, of course, in terms of feel and understanding of the game. But in terms of technique, maybe someone like Roger Federer is more talented and, therefore, maybe, should have done better in terms of results.
"That's what people think. We overlook the passion and the competitive spirit that Rafa brought every single day. So even on that day against Novak [Djokovic] at the [Paris] Olympics (an eventual defeat), he's trying as hard as he can. And at some point, the belief fully disappeared because of physical reasons, emotional reasons. Who knows? Age, of course, is the biggest factor.
"So he's given everything. He's overachieved. That puts him in a category, to me, on his own, because he's overachieved more than anybody. He's such a great competitor."