Antonio Zugarelli calls Roger Federer the GOAT and Rafael Nadal "not fun"

What's the story?

Former Italian tennis player Antonio Zugarelli made some interesting comments about the current tennis scenario in a recent interview. As well as commenting on how the tennis world has dramatically changed over the last 50 years, he also expressed his views on the Big 3 of tennis.

In case you didn't know...

Zugarelli began his tennis career in 1969. The Italian reached a career-high ranking of 27 but is most famous for leading Italy to a hard-fought Davis Cup triumph in 1976, where he helped Italy defeat Chile in the final.

The heart of the matter

The Italian began the interview by reflecting on the tennis world in general, by arguing that "everything has changed." Zugarelli attributed this change to the huge increase in money in the sport.

"It seems tennis has become rich and arrogant like the football. At my time, in Rome, 80 per cent of the tennis players were streets guys, just like me. You came to tennis only after becoming a ballboy. I was cleaning the court and the lines for the rich sirs," Zugarelli said.

"Now in 2-3 tournaments you earn as much as I earned in my entire career," he added.

Ballboys in tennis

The Italian then discussed the Big 3 of tennis, and had words for both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

"Federer is the best of all time. He is tennis. Djokovic will be world No. 1. I like that he is extravagant; which is not Nadal, who is not fun for me. If I go to the Foro Italico, I want to see the French tennis, not the Spanish one," Zugarelli said.

Whilst he was most complimentary to Federer and Djokovic, it appears that Nadal isn't Zugarelli's cup of tea. The Italian did not specify why he found the Spaniard boring to watch.

Rafael Nadal at the Foro Italico

What's next?

Zugarelli's comments are sure to anger fans of Nadal, who've often voiced their displeasure at how he isn't as well-received as Federer in certain European venues (most notably Roland Garros).