JAIDIP MUKERJEA, tennis pro

For a man to stay at the top for 20+ years and win 21 Grand Slams is phenomenal. The amazing part is his will to win is still there after winning so many events. The fighting qualities he showed was of a true champion and under pressure. We knew that he might not be ready for the Australian Open, but to come back and train and compete with players 10-15 years younger than him and come out on top, it is a feat that will never be repeated by anyone.

He is so humble. Kudos to a person like him. Coming back from 2-0, winning the next two sets and serving for the match 5-4 and then losing his serve and then refocusing again, I know it’s so tough. He hung in... and then just rolled on. Until the end we didn’t know who’s going to win.

He is one of the greatest athletes in the world. So are Federer and Djokovic. But the great thing is his hunger to still play. He is 35 and he has won everything. He is still going to compete in the French Open and Wimbledon. I think as tennis lovers we are lucky that in this generation we have seen three of the greatest.

The crowd really goes for him. He gets the crowd behind him. At Melbourne too, 90 per cent of the crowd was rooting for him. They always cheer for the underdog and he was the underdog.

I think the takeaway would be the tenacity of a champion player. “It ain’t over till (or until) the fat lady sings”.

RANADEEP MOITRA, strength and conditioning specialist and corrective exercise coach

It’s outstanding but it’s possible (the comeback after the surgery in a short span of time). The body can cope. Human resilience of course has no barrier. That’s the lesson. How bodies can be pushed is absolutely fascinating and he has shown that it’s possible. At the end of the day, he is a human being with the same bones and ligaments. Of course, there is top medical care, but a lot people tend to give up. It’s also about how badly you want it. It’s also psychological.

The role of the support staff cannot be undermined... the physio, the doctor, the trainer. These guys are on the physio table every day. They also travel with their physios and trainers.

The talent, the ability to hit a ball... what separates the men from the boys is this. Some people are hugely talented, like Roger Federer has the silken touch. That’s gifted. According to Rahul Dravid, things like getting up on time, sacrificing something you want to eat is talent... not just the sense of timing or tempo. If you compare someone like John McEnroe to Nadal, when McEnroe hits the ball, it’s like silk, Nadal is not that but look at what he’s achieved.

SHIVIKA BURMAN, tennis pro

I definitely like Nadal. I was a bigger fan of Federer’s but over the last few years, I have started liking Nadal more. My respect has gone up for him by leaps and bounds. What he has done for sports in general, I think there is no athlete like him. Sunday, game-wise, I don’t think the quality of the game was as good as some of the other matches that we have watched, whether it be Medvedev or Nadal, but just the way he fought and you could see how badly he wanted it... that’s something I love about him. Every time he has had injuries and has been forced to take months off, the way he conducts himself on the court, he is truly an inspiration for all age groups and every single person.

Every single time he steps on to the court, you can see the sheer love and passion. I remember him saying once that the opponent could beat him, but he wouldn’t stop fighting and I think that is something we have always seen with Nadal. In the third set, you could see it physically get to him, because some of the shots that he missed, it’s not the Nadal we are used to watching, but he just didn’t give up. He was three break points down in the third set and there were bad errors... but he just dug deep and found a way out. I think when things get tougher, it brings the best out of him every single time.

He’ll be known as the person who never ever gave up. I have met him and he is so humble. He will greet everybody and doesn’t feel like he is above everybody. He is a role model.

SHAYAMAL VALLABHJEE, sports scientist and high performance coach

Nadal embodies the true meaning of sportsmanship. Fight till the very end and accept the result graciously. It is this spirit that forges his mental strength. The world sees a mentally remarkably strong athlete. I see a person whose respect, love and admiration for the game, his skills and his opponents being so high, it won’t allow him to show up in any other way. This is why he is a champion and this is the lesson everyone needs to learn.

Nadal has a team that has remained constant for decades. They know his body, his mind, his capabilities. The result of a consistent team is that they would understand how to push a person in the right way.

There is no doubt he pushed his body hard to get here, but give credit to the ecosystem that knew how hard and when to push. It’s a mistake many amateur trainers make. Either they don’t push hard enough or they break the athlete.

I have had the pleasure of speaking to Nadal, working with his team and studying their methods. He is a dream athlete but more importantly, the team is a dream team. Everyone is valued and respected and they work towards a single goal — making Nadal win. What I love the most is the sense of responsibility he has to his team — he pushes hard because of his respect for the efforts the team puts in.

I would love to spend more time with him. It’s been almost 10 years since I left the tour — from a psychologist standpoint, evaluating the growth mindset of the person would be incredible.