Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have dominated men’s tennis for over a decade. There are only four other players who have won a combined seven Grand Slam titles since 2006 – the rest have been won by the “Big 3”. The new generation of tennis players have not been able to displace the trio and according to the Spaniard, it is not only about them not lacking the ability to play at a high level on a consistent basis.

Many have criticized the new generation for not being able to challenge the likes of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic on a consistent basis but the Spaniard, who has now won 11 French Open titles revealed that he has to evolve as the years progressed to ensure he remained at the top of his game.

"This change did not happen over a day or a year," Nadal said, as quoted on Tennis World USA. "It was logical progress. My legs are not the same as 2005 when I won my maiden French Open title. The same thing for the movement. It's the only way to stay competitive. Federer, Djokovic and me - everyone had the desire to stay to the top. In order to make it happen, we had to keep evolving."

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (R) and Roger Federer pose with their trophies after the Men's singles final match on day eight of 2017 ATP Shanghai Rolex Masters at Qizhong Stadium in Shanghai, China, Oct. 15, 2017. Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

Nadal has had more than his fair share of injury troubles in the last decade which have seen him miss almost entire seasons. But he has always managed to return to his best over a period of time and spoke about when he might think of hanging up his racket.

The former world No. 1 made it clear that tennis is not the most important part of his life and that it goes well beyond that. He assured that he will not be playing the game when his body cannot compete at the highest level.

"If my body says I can no longer make it and I am not able to play big matches again, then it's a sign to stop,” the Spaniard added. “The fire and passion for sports in general and for tennis, in particular, are still inside me. That makes me keep playing and inspires me to keep fighting. My life goes much beyond tennis. Tennis is definitely a part of it but is not the most important.”

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