Tiriac declares Federer’s talent “a category apart” from Nadal and Djokovic

Ion Tiriac considers Roger Federer to be in a ‘category apart’ compared to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. The Swiss Maestro will soon reach two years since his retirement at the 2022 Laver Cup.

Tiriac, a former Romanian tennis player, recently gave an interview with We Love Tennis where he mentioned that the Swiss is physically behind his two great rivals, but in terms of talent, no one can match him: “Actually, I know very little about Roger Federer, but he always respected me,” said Tiriac. “Like the other stars on the tour, he calls me the chef.”

The Romanian businessman is recognized as a former French Open doubles champion, alongside Ilie Năstase in men’s doubles in 1970. Additionally, he owned the Madrid Open between 2009 and 2021, being responsible for turning it into a combined men’s and women’s tournament, as well as changing the tournament’s date from October to its current position in May.

Tiriac also owns the Tiriac tournaments and is considered the richest man in tennis. In his recent interview, he spoke about the rivalry between Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic and did not hesitate to choose the Swiss as the most talented: “I sincerely think that he is really in a category apart if we compare him to Nadal or Djokovic, for example. He’s a player who invented things on a tennis court that didn’t exist.”

“Physically, he was always a little below Djokovic and Nadal, but the talent he had in his hands is a certainty,” Tiriac added regarding Roger Federer.

Federer ended his career at the age of 41 after 310 weeks as world No. 1, with 103 ATP titles, including 20 Grand Slam titles, which for several years made him the greatest Slam champion of all time until he was surpassed by Rafael Nadal (22) and Novak Djokovic (24).