Novak Djokovic thinks his rivalry with Rafael Nadal can become the greatest in tennis – Tennis News
World’s current best player, Novak Djokovic, believes that his rivalry with the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal, can outshine all the previous top rivalries in the history of tennis.
The Serbian juggernaut thinks that Nadal and Roger Federer’s rivalry is the greatest at the moment but he and the Spaniard can overtake that in the future.
Nadal and Federer have played against each other 28 times, with Nadal leading the head to head record 18-10. They have competed with each other in eight Grand Slams title matches. Nadal and Federer’s rivalry started in 2004, when
the former stunned the then world number one, Federer, in straight sets in the round of 32 at the Sony Ericsson Open.
Djokovic stated, "Obviously Federer and Nadal have still, I think, the biggest rivalry in the sport. Because they have been at the top for so many years, they have been so dominant. I mean, I just joined that rivalry, I think,
you know, just recently, couple years ago.”
In comparison, Nadal and Djokovic have already faced each other 33 times, with the Spaniard having a positive score of 19-14. The top two players have locked horns in nine titles matches in last year and a half. Djokovic and Nadal
have played each other in the last four Grand Slam finals, making an open ear record.
The Australian Open final between these two, which lasted almost six hours, was the longest Major final in the history of tennis.
Djokovic added, "We are very young, and we played over 30 times against each other, and hopefully we can have many more battles in the next years."
Although, Djokovic lost to his Spanish rival in the Roland Garros final and failed in his bid to become just the second player in open era to hold all four Grand Slams at the same time but the Serbian is still confident that he
will bounce back.
He said, "I lost this time. But I believe that there are still many years to come, and hopefully I can come back stronger."
The Serbian will try to achieve his this year’s other target by winning Gold Medal at the London Olympics in this summer.
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