"He is now the most successful tennis player in history, a few weeks ago there were 3 and now there is only 1"- Boris Becker on Rafael Nadal

In a recent interview with RTVE, Boris Becker showered praise on Rafael Nadal, calling him a "fighter, champion, and a tremendous personality." The German also feels Nadal is now the most successful tennis player in the history of the sport after his Australian Open triumph.

World No. 5 Rafael Nadal lifted his 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, edging past Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in the Grand Slam race. The Spaniard defeated World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the finals and won the Happy Slam after 13 years.

Becker emphasized that Nadal's win in Melbourne should be "highlighted" since it moved the Spaniard to the top of the Slam leaderboard.

The former German player also claimed that Nadal will be the "big favorite" for the 2022 French Open, where a win could take his Grand Slam tally to 22. However, he believes that the Spaniard's triumph in Melbourne will "affect" both Djokovic and Federer and motivate them to "win another Grand Slam" title.

“Rafa showed once again that he is a fighter, a champion, a tremendous personality to play the way he did and come back from a final that was very complicated. He is now the most successful tennis player in history, something that should be highlighted, since a few weeks ago there were three and now there is only one," said Becker.

"I am sure that this will affect Novak and Roger, both will want to win another Grand Slam or even two, since Rafa will be the big favorite for the next Roland Garros," added the six-time Grand Slam winner.

Boris Becker believes Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic are the "three legends" of the sport, hopes they "continue to compete for many years"

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer

In the same interview, hailing Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic as the "three legends" of the sport, Becker stated that he "never thought" that three players would dominate the ATP tour at the same point in time. He also stressed that their record of winning 20 Grand Slams will be tough for any player to emulate in the future.

Becker further asserted that he hopes the 'Big 3' will "continue competing" on the ATP tour for many more years.

“They are three legends in every sense, I never thought that three tennis players of this level could come together at the same time. In my time, the record was held by Pete Sampras with 14 Grand Slams, but now there are three tennis players with 20 Grand Slams or more, it is an incredible record that is still difficult to assimilate," mentioned Becker.

"An incredible record for the world of tennis, which right now is healthier than ever thanks to the three of them, hopefully they can continue competing for many more years," concluded the former World No. 1 player.

While Roger Federer has been out of action since July 2021, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are currently playing at the Acapulco Open and Dubai Tennis Championships 2022 respectively.