Rafael Nadal given the "gold standard" tag by Taylor Fritz as American sheds light on Spaniard's impact on his generation ahead of retirement

Taylor Fritz recently gave Rafael Nadal the "gold standard" tag while talking about the Spaniard's excellence among left-handed players to have graced tennis over the years. Nadal is on the cusp of bidding farewell to tennis, with the former World No. 1's illustrious career set to come to an end at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.

Rafael Nadal made his ATP Tour-level debut in the early 2000s and won the 2005 French Open, his maiden Major title triumph. In the years that followed, the Spaniard added 21 Grand Slams to his title haul. Nadal also successfully represented Spain at the Olympics and has two gold medals to his name, one in singles and another in doubles. Furthermore, he won the Davis Cup with Spain on four occasions.

Nadal's left-handed playing style proved troublesome for most players to deal with, including his great rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard was particularly feared because of his devastating forehand and his never-say-die attitude, which often saw him winning seemingly inconceivable points. His record of 14 French Open titles is widely regarded by many as one that may never be equaled.

Recently, Taylor Fritz, the American No. 1, talked about the 38-year-old being the left-handed player that other lefties look up to. Fritz's admission came in the aftermath of his loss to Jannik Sinner in the final of the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals.

"I feel like I see a lot of lefties that try to play exactly like Rafa. I mean, if I was lefty, I'd try to play exactly like Rafa, too. It's probably good I'm not lefty because it wouldn't be very good trying to do that (smiling). Yeah, I think in terms of people trying to emulate his game, I feel like there's so many lefties that just look to Rafa as like the gold standard of what you want to do," Fritz said.

The American went on to hail the impact of Nadal and Federer on the younger generations.

"I mean, even me when I was a kid, I'd be on the court pretending I'm playing the French Open, doing like this and stuff. He's had a massive impact on my whole generation because we all grew up on watching him and Roger," Fritz added.

One of Fritz's finest moments on the court, interestingly, came against Nadal in 2022.

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Taylor Fritz played through pain to stun Rafael Nadal in the final of the BNP Paribas Open 2022

Rafael Nadal (L) and Taylor Fritz (R) (Source: Getty)

Rafael Nadal and Taylor Fritz locked horns in the final of the 2022 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Nadal was unbeaten up to that point in 2022, and the Spaniard was the overwhelming favorite to win, especially considering the fact that Fritz had tweaked his ankle in the semifinals.

However, a remarkably gritty display from the American saw him dispatch the Spaniard 6-3, 7-6(5). The win marked Taylor Fritz's only Masters 1000 title to date. Overall, Fritz has a 2-2 win-loss record against Nadal.

The American's recent run to the final of the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals sees him finish the year as the World No. 4, a new career-high ranking for the 27-year-old.