"Almagro ... is a guy that's won like 11, 12, clay court titles, won them all on clay. The guy's very, very good clay-court player.I don't think he's ever played better than he played - and he still can't win a set. Like how discouraging it is to play Nadal on this surface.Ah, God, I have seen him a thousand times. I just watch this guy and it's hard to even know where to begin to pick one thing.The way he's improved his game, like his serve, the parts of his game where he can move forward, his volley, the defensive ability he's got to track down balls and just make you play extra shots.And the way he sort of slides into balls and puts away a shot - shots that seem like impossible when I was playing - it was unheard of."
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John McEnroe talking about Rafa before the 2012 Roland Garros Men's singles final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael NadalRafael Nadal
"You obviously never saw Wilt Chamberlain play who undoubtedly was the greatest scorer this game has ever known. When did MJ ever average 50.4 points per game plus 25.7 rebounds? (Wilt in the 1962 season when blocked shot statistics were not kept). We will never accurately know how many shots Wilt blocked. Oh, by the way in 1967 and 68, Wilt was a league leader in assists. Did MJ ever score 100 points in a game? How many times did MJ score more than 60 points in a game? MJ led the league in scoring in consecutive seasons for 10 years but he did this in an NBA that eventually expanded into 30 teams vs. when Wilt played and there were only 8 teams."
Wilt Chamberlain
"People say he is a great player, but you have to define what a great player is. For me, it is a player who has a bottom level that means his worst performance is not noticed. If he is having a bad game, a teammate might feel Paul Scholes is not quite on his game, but a spectator wouldn't notice. Scholes, of all the players I have played with, has the highest bottom level. He has an eye for a pass, for what the play or the game needs at that precise moment, that I have never seen anyone else have. These days he doesn't get into the box too many times, which is where you can see his age, but he has developed tactically. He controls and distributes the play and the game better than anyone I have ever seen."
Paul Scholes
[In the modern game], you're either a clay court specialist, a grass court specialist or a hard court specialist ... or you're Roger Federer.
Roger Federer
"When challenged, Wilt could do almost anything he wanted. In 1961 a new star named Walt Bellamy came into the league. Bellamy was 6-foot-11, and was scoring 30 points a game. First time they played against each other, they met at half court. Bellamy said, 'Hello, Mr. Chamberlain. I'm Walter Bellamy.' Chamberlain reached for Bellamy's hand and said, 'Hello, Walter. You won't get a shot off in the first half.' Wilt then blocked Bellamy's first nine shots. At the start of the second half Wilt said to Bellamy, 'Okay, Walter. Now you can play.'"
Wilt Chamberlain
Arsene Wenger: "Totti is a top, top class player. He is typical of the Roman game and I’m sure he will never move outside of Roma. He used to play in behind the strikers and then one day they had no central striker so they played him up front and won game after game. He suddenly became the topscorer in Italy as a central striker. That means this guy has absolutely everything. He has a fantastic protection of the ball, he has a quick turn and then he has a very good pass in the final third of the pitch. He can be deadly with every single pass. He will certainly be the most dangerous provider in the final third for them in this game. He is not the only player who can be dangerous but he can open the defence with any pass at any moment of the day if you give him the freedom."
Francesco Totti
Nadal, Rafael
Nadanian, Ashot
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