Carlos Moya, the coach of tennis star Rafael Nadal, says the Spaniard does not have the ability to win mentally like his counterpart Novak Djokovic does.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were in good form at the 2019 Australian Open. It was no surprise the two met in the final, but Djokovic was the one who came on top after defeating Nadal in straight sets to win the first Grand Slam of 2019.
Carlos Moya says a player like Djokovic puts a lot of pressure on the opponents and if the opponent makes a mistake of giving him space to breathe, then it is always difficult to overcome the current world number one.
"He is a player who puts a lot of pressure and if you let him breathe, he sets the bar very high," said Carlos Moya.
"He definitely has the best backhand on Tour, moves very well, and he is a winner, he puts you pressure', said Moya.
"Mentally he is the most similar to Rafa on the whole tour. Rafa does not win Djokovic mentally like it generally happens with his colleagues."
Rafa's former coach and uncle Toni Nadal has a different opinion about his nephew.
"Rafael played the entire tournament at a very good level. His results in all the clashes have been proof of it. He hurt more with his serve, was impressive with his forehand and was very fast," uncle Toni said.
"He reached the final spending less time on court than the past, which is really important for him. I think the result in the final gave the feeling of a bigger gap than the one you really have. Djokovic got closer to perfection and Rafael was less good.
"But I would like to say what I told in the afternoon to the kids of Rafael's Academy. Not even in the late stages of the third set my nephew showed signs od frustration or giving up. No bad gesture, no bad look to his corner.
"He fought until the last point which is what a person grateful to his life and luck does. He shaked the hand and congratulated his opponent, and accepted the loss humbly. It's not so common, nowadays, seeing this in the professional world."
