'Closer to Novak Djokovic' - Rafael Nadal has 'more chances' at Wimbledon than on hard courts, says coach

Rafael Nadal should be «closer» to top seed Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon than on hard courts, according to one of the Spaniard's coaches, Francisco Roig. Djokovic, who is the reigning champion at SW19, is a strong favourite to defend his title, despite having endured a very challenging year so far with his Australian Open debacle and defeat to Nadal at Roland-Garros.

Ad/> While Roig suggested that the Serb has the edge over his player on both grass and hard courts, he believes that the gap between the pair at Wimbledon is not as big. WimbledonWhy isn't Federer playing at Wimbledon and when will he return?5 HOURS AGO “He [Nadal] had a few years in which he didn’t play well on grass, but if he’s doing well, there are fewer rivals who can beat him on grass than on hard courts,” Roig told the ATP Tour.

«In that same way, I think he is closer to Djokovic on this surface than on fast [hard courts]. Being difficult to beat on both [surfaces] and considering that he [Djokovic] is the favourite [at Wimbledon], there are more chances to beat him here.

“You have no choice but to be aggressive at certain times, and that helps him. Against [Roger] Federer he was too conservative [in 2019].