“I didn’t think anything special of Roger Federer, I didn’t have that feeling I had with Rafael Nadal” – Younes El Aynaoui

Former ATP player Younes El Aynaoui recently recalled his past battles with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He revealed that he did not think anything special of Federer the first time they played, but expected great things of Nadal.El Aynaoui faced off four times against the Swiss, and lost all but one match. His only win came in their first meeting, on the claycourts of Gstaad. Federer went on to win their next three matches in straight sets.

Against Nadal, El Aynaoui has a 1-1 record. He lost the first match they played but beat the Spaniard at the 2003 US Open.In a recent interview with Punto de Break, the Moroccan stated that he did not have a special feeling about Federer after beating the Swiss while he was still a teenager finding his feet on the ATP Tour. El Aynaoui chalked down Federer’s improvement to the physical changes the 20-time Grand Slam champion made to his game, saying that he became much stronger and faster over the years.