Novak Djokovic admitted a part of him will leave when Rafael Nadal will hang his boots from the game. Nadal recently made it clear that 2024 will be his last season on the tour and he recently took an indefinite break from the game.
Nadal will also miss Roland Garros, which he has won on a record-breaking 14 occasions. In fact, when Roger Federer retired in September 2022 after playing in the Laver Cup, Rafael Nadal made the same statement as he said part of him will leave with Federer.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are the two most successful tennis players of all time, with 22 Grand Slam titles each. The duo have shared an epic rivalry on the court as they have played some of the best matches in the history of the game.
Djokovic has a 30-29 ATP H2H record against Nadal. When these two big players met the last time, Nadal won the quarterfinal clash against Djokovic in the French Open 2022.
The Serbian admitted that news of Nadal not taking part in the second slam of the year came as a shock for him.
“That news came in a way as a shock to everybody,” he said. “People were asking me how I felt when he said that. I was saying that always he’s my biggest rival. When he announced that he’s going to have his last season of career, I felt part of me is leaving with him too, if you know what I mean.”
Meanwhile, Nadal leads Djokovic by 8-2 while playing the Serbian at the Roland Garros. Djokovic defeated Nadal in the quarterfinal of 2015 and the semifinal of the 2021 edition of Roland Garros.
“I don’t like seeing him in the draw of Roland Garros, to be honest,” he said. “I have had not so much success against him in our head-to-head at Roland Garros.
“I have managed to beat him twice, but I had to leave my heart and my guts out on the court to achieve that. So I know how hard it is to play him anywhere, really, around the world, but especially here.”
Djokovic gave credit to Nadal for playing a key role in his career and helping him improve his game at the top level. The Serbian will take on America’s Aleksandar Kovacevic in the first round of Roland Garros on Sunday.
