Rafael Nadal announced his will be joining Roger Federer on the retirement bench after a last dance at the Davis Cup.

A gut-wrenching announcement was made by Rafael Nadal this month, revealing that his career would be coming to an end this year.

A fractured year on tour saw injuries take over, causing Nadal to notch up no wins at any of the Grand Slams – in fact, he missed all but one.

With the tennis world still stuck eulogizing over the great champion, Nadal has also shared his own reflections about his career.

However, more interestingly, many are offering up curious insight into what the Spaniard was really like as an opponent.

French former world number four Guy Forget won the Davis Cup twice in his career spanning from 1982 to 1997.

Speaking to L’Equipe, he explained how a certain quality about Nadal separated him from his main rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

He clarified straight away: “We can say that Federer was technically the most accomplished, the most incredible when he played well. We can say that Djokovic is the best returner, the player who misses the least, the most difficult to counter, but for me, the strongest mentally is Nadal.

“In this respect, I place him above Roger and Novak,” the Frenchman admitted. “When some other legends could show signs of irritation and even give up during the match, I never saw him lower his head or admit defeat. Until the last point.

“It was probably his greatest strength, this ability, whatever his physical problem, the score, his opponent or the surface, to constantly say to himself, ‘I’m going to find the solution, and I’m going to get through it.’ I don’t know where he got this strength from,” Forget concluded.

With Nadal having revealed his biggest career rival this week, his retirement has birthed a litany of revelations from all corners of the tennis world.

Nadal described his 2022 Australian Open victory as his greatest comeback after he recovered from two sets down against Daniil Medvedev.

Nadal defeated Medvedev to secure his 21st major title, 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in just under five and a half hours.

In what was the second longest grand slam final ever, it was also the first time in the Spaniard’s career that he has come back from two sets down in a slam final.

It also birthed a new record for Nadal as the win meant he’d secured at least two singles titles at all four majors.