He won a plethora of titles while also creating a great legacy which has inspired many around the world.

Rafael Nadal brought a unique style of play to tennis and showcased traits both on and off the court that have contributed to him becoming an icon.

What did Pat Cash say was unique about Rafael Nadal’s game?

As Nadal announced his retirement, tributes poured in from all over the world.

In many of the messages issued to the former World number one, he was described as the greatest competitor in tennis history.

Novak Djokovic described former rival Nadal as the player who brought more intensity to the courts than anyone else. This is something Pat Cash alluded to when he described what was unique about Nadal’s game.

“Nadal has brought something to the game of tennis that we’ve never seen before. He’s very, very special,” the Australian told Tennis Majors.

“I’ve always said that if I had one person to play for my life, one match somewhere, it would be Nadal. Because if an alien came down from outer space and said, ‘OK, I know how to play tennis. I’ll beat [anyone], give me your best’, you’d throw Nadal out there. Go on, handle his slice serve, try to handle this top spin.

“He just plays like nobody else. His competitiveness, ferociousness. Every season was interesting because you’d watch him, you’d go, ‘what’s he changed now? What’s he improved now?’ He just kept doing that.

“He kept changing his serve, getting it better. Kept doing different tactics, doing this, this and that. Top players tend to do that. You go, either improve, or you stand still, as they say, and he was great at that.”

What happened when Pat Cash played a 13-year-old Rafael Nadal

In October, Cash recalled the time he played against Nadal, who was just 13 at the time, in a legends exhibition match in Majorca, Nadal’s place of birth.

The 1987 Wimbledon champion was originally due to face Boris Becker, but the German suffered an injury and was unable to compete.

Nadal was named as his replacement, and Cash was pleasantly surprised by what his opponent was able to produce at such a young age, as he suffered a shock defeat to the Spanish teenager.

“I played a legends exhibition match in Majorca. I was due to play Boris Becker but Boris got injured and the tournament organisers went into panic,” Cash told Sky Sports. “They said we haven’t got anyone to play but we have this world junior champion.

“That was when I met Rafa. He had a bowl haircut. I was too nice to him, he ended up beating me. He was a couple of weeks short of being 14!

“I was retired but he beat me in the first set and the crowd loved it, they were roaring. I said that’s it, I’m going to go back to my old serve and volley. Won the second set pretty easily. Tie break third set.

“I thought he was going to choke. Of course he didn’t choke. He ran shots down from everywhere, all over the court. I came back and went ‘oh my goodness this kid is going to be something else’, and he was!”

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