'I played Federer on grass and Nadal on clay - one was significantly harder'

The two most difficult matches to play in tennis are largely thought to be against Rafael Nadal on clay and Roger Federer on grass. The former won the French Open an unprecedented 14 times, while no player has won more titles at Wimbledon in the Open Era than Federer's eight successes.

A select few have had the misfortune of playing each superstar on their favourite surfaces in their prime. Andy Murray had to do it on countless occasions. The Brit took both Federer and Nadal to their absolute maximum and has opened up on which set of conditions was more difficult to play in.

Murray faced Nadal on the clay nine separate times, with his only two victories coming away from Paris as he claimed wins at the Madrid Open.

He has a slightly better record against Federer on grass, though they met on just three occasions. Murray won one of those meetings, to the Swiss star's two.

Federer defeated Murray in the 2012 Wimbledon final, but he got his revenge months later by upsetting his foe in the London 2012 Olympics final.

And he claimed that Nadal on clay was the more difficult opponent. He confirmed: "I would say Nadal on clay is the hardest. Definitely."

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The Spanish legend is the most successful clay-court player of all time. His 81 consecutive wins on clay constitute the longest single-surface win streak in the Open Era and he was presented with a plaque of his footprint on the Court Philippe-Chatrier clay at his farewell ceremony earlier this year.

"Some say beating Rafa over five sets on clay is the toughest thing in sport - not just tennis," said seven-time Grand Slam singles champion John McEnroe. "I would agree with that."

Clay is the natural surface for Spanish players and the slower conditions allowed Nadal to use his supreme athleticism to great advantage. He lost just four matches in his career at the French Open. The question had often been put to his opponents, how do you beat Nadal on clay, especially at Chatrier?

Casper Ruud, 2022 and 2023 French Open runner-up, detailed the difficulty to The Athletic: "He makes you suffer. First he takes your legs, then your mind.

"His ball? It's... heavy. And I think if you haven't played tennis yourself it's maybe hard to know what heavy means. I guess it's the spin and rotation of his ball. The more RPMs he has on his ball, the quicker it will bounce up towards you.

"And when the ball bounces up at you, the more RPMs it has, the heavier it comes up at you compared to a ball that's coming at you really flat. He has mastered that more than anyone else."

Ruud, Murray and the entire professional ATP Tour appear to have a consensus on the matter.