Leonardo Mayer recalls rejecting an invitation to train with Federer - "I didn't want to suffer"

Former World No.21 Leonardo Mayer has picked Roger Federer as the greatest of all time (GOAT), but believes there is a downside to training with Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

The Argentine, who announced his retirement earlier this month, gave his opinion on the GOAT debate, stating it was difficult to pick just one player but admitted he considered Federer the greatest ever.

"How difficult... Of those three is the one you like the most," Mayer said in an interview with La Nacion. "Federer is for me. He does everything right."

The 34-year old recalled an incident where Federer invited him to train in Switzerland during the 2019 clay season. However, Mayer reveals he turned down the invitation, believing he wouldn't be able to cope with the pressure of training with 20-time Grand Slam champion.

"I couldn't train. I wasn't going to be able to put up with the pressure that meant being with Federer; I couldn't," revealed Mayer. "Ivan Ljubicic, Federer's coach, contacted the Boy (Mariano Hood), who was with me, and proposed it to him. I told him to let me think for a while, but I rejected him (Roger Federer)."

Read also

ATP Rankings Update: Federer drops out of top 10 as Norrie moves up to 15

Mayer stated Federer's camp was taken aback by his refusal, and added that although it would have been nice to train with the Swiss, he did not want to suffer due to Federer's perfect tennis.

"They couldn't believe it; imagine... I don't know what excuse he gave him," explained Mayer. "But I didn't feel prepared to go there for a week, I think to Geneva. I didn't want to suffer. It's very nice to train with Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, but at the same time they generate extra pressure, because they don't miss a ball and you have to be one hundred percent."