Roger Federer "underrated" in terms of mental toughness but Rafael Nadal is the best, declares John McEnroe's brother Patrick

Former American tennis player Patrick McEnroe has hailed Rafael Nadal for his mental toughness, also reserving high praise for Roger Federer.

Nadal has been a resilient player since turning pro in 2003. He has always had a fighting spirit and a never-give-up attitude, which has seen him rule the sport, alongside Djokovic and Federer, for more than two decades. The Spaniard's sheer willpower and hard work have seen him grind out many victories and outlast several opponents on his way to tennis stardom.

1989 French Open doubles champion McEnroe hailed Nadal for his mental strength, stating that he was better than any other player in that department.

“Mental toughness, that's tough. You think Rafa, you think Novak. They're just better. I am not gonna say that it’s easier to be tough when you are that good, but it’s easy to be mentally tough when you are that good,” he said in a conversation on Courtside: The US Open Podcast.

“You probably have to give the edge to Rafa. Just overall,” he added. “I've seen times when Novak looks disinterested, not in big matches though. I've almost never seen Nadal do that, you know? Even what he did this year against [Mackenzie] McDonald [at the Australian Open], right? He just refused to stop because he's done that a bunch and he just didn't want to do it again.”

The 56-year-old, who is the younger brother of former World No. 1 John McEnroe, used the 2017 Australian Open final as an example to also state that Federer was no slouch in terms of his mental strength.

“I think Roger [is] underrated because he won, oftentimes he made it look so easy. I was glad for him and for tennis that we got to see him like late. You know, win that [2017] Australian Open when he came from behind [6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–3] against Rafa,” he declared.

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“Those guys rewrote the rules” - Patrick McEnroe Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic's longevity

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at the 2023 Laver Cup.

Patrick McEnroe went on to praise the Big-3 of Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the manner in which they always bounced back from hurdles, ensuring their longevity in the sport.

“The other thing you have to recognize for those guys, especially, it's the longevity. You know the longevity that plays a big part in it. All those guys kind of rewrote the rules of what it is to be so great because they were very resilient. They probably don't get enough credit for it because they're just so great,” he opined.

“I kind of always had this in my head that once someone beats their big rival, it changes for good. And these three guys totally threw that out the window,” he added.