By 2012, the three horsemen of men’s tennis won everything, couldn’t be beaten by anyone but each other, and dragged the sport into the future with whirling top-spin forehands and impossibly precise backhands. They expanded what tennis perfection could be, and I felt I needed to choose a side in the arms race.

With 22 Grand Slam singles titles and an Olympic gold medal, Nadal is considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time.