New Delhi, May 24 (IANS): Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal are widely known as the Big 3 of Tennis due to the sheer dominance they have displayed over the past two decades of the sport. Indian tennis icon, Somdev Devvarman who had the privilege of playing all three legends of the game, on Friday talked about how different the three players are and what sets them apart from the rest of the pack in an exclusive conversation with IANS.

“It was a huge privilege for me, honestly, to play against Roger, Rafa, Novak, and Murray. I'll throw Murray into that conversation as well. Great players of my generation. and all very different challenges to be honest with you. Roger beat you in a very artistic, beautiful way. He played chess where he knew how you wanted to play the point or how you wanted to approach the rally and he didn't allow you to do that. He did that in a variety of ways. I think that's one of the things that Roger did incredibly well," said Devvarman of the Swiss legend.

Devvarman rated Nadal's forehand as the greatest of his time.

“Rafa was just, you know, well, like the greatest forehand anybody's ever seen, really. The amount of speed he can generate on that is, I mean, scary if you're on the other side and an insane competitor but completely different in many ways, because Roger kind of dominated with his serve. Rafa always allowed you to play and you feel like you're on the point,” he said.

"Novak was a completely different beast. I felt like whenever I was on the other side of the net, I felt like he would never miss a ball and he would put it exactly where he wanted to, with the pace he wanted to. He would know how to control the pace of the rally. He would get out of tough holes in easy ways, just things that other players couldn't do. You hit the ball huge or hit a big serve and before you know it's on your shoelaces, you're defending, he's attacking,” Devvarman told IANS.

With the Roland Garros set to begin and the finest player on the clay-court, Rafael Nadal, set to make a comeback, the entire tennis fraternity is excited to see how he fares in the tournament which has seen him win 112 out of 115 games played.

Djokovic is currently playing in the Geneva Open where he will take part in the semifinals against Tomas Machac

“So, it's just a huge privilege for me to have to be saying that I got a fair chance to compete against all these guys when they were at their best. And a very special feeling. I feel lucky in many ways, obviously, that I got to play against these guys. And yeah, just, I mean, the greatest three players that our sport has produced, undoubtedly,” he added.

Tennis fans in India can watch Roland Garros 2024 from May 26 onwards with live telecast starting at 2:30 PM IST on Sony Sports Ten 5 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 2 SD & HD, Sony Sports Ten 3 SD & HD (Hindi), Sony Sports Ten 4 SD & HD (Tamil & Telugu).