Bellucci decides on GOAT debate but with caveat: "The best is Djokovic, but I always had most difficulty with Nadal"

Thomaz Bellucci shared his opinion on the GOAT dispute between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.

Former Brazilian tennis player retired in early 2023, after a career in which he won four ATP 250 titles and was ranked in the top-25 of the world in 2010. Bellucci coincided with the golden years of the big-3 and had the opportunity to face them all. Against Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, he had a record of 0-6 each, and he also faced Roger Federer twice, both times with the Swiss winning.

In an interview with ESPN, the former world No. 21 gave his opinion on who he considers the best of the three.: “For me, the best is Djokovic. But the one I always had the most difficulty with was Nadal, because of my style of play,'' said Bellucci.

The Brazilian recalled his participation in the Masters 1000 of Rome 2016, where he won the first set of his match against Nole 6-0, but the Serbian player recovered and managed to eliminate him.

''I was having a really good day, feeling really good. And sometimes when you're having a good day, it seems like the other guy starts playing worse, because then he says: 'Damn, this guy is playing well'. But then he manages to pull the rabbit out of the hat. He starts doing other things in the game”.

"That's why these guys are out of line. They start to play better and I couldn't keep it, it's hard," he added.