The historic rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal has certainly made recent tennis history. Two legends of the sport, 46 Grand Slam titles together and a career that is not yet over for either of them. Rafael Nadal is probably in the last year of his career, Djokovic is still number one and defends this position against the attacks of NextGen’s players, especially Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Novak Djokovic is in big trouble in 2024, so far he has 0 titles in his season and is not able to break the deadlock. In Australia, Djokovic lost versus Jannik Sinner and he had to give up one of his records (unbeaten in the semi-finals of the Australian Open). He then suffered painful defeats such as the one against Luca Nardi and the most recent one against Casper Ruud in Monte-Carlo, and is now called upon to make amends.
Djokovic will make his debut in Rome in the next few days, but during the presentation press conference he had nice words for Rafael Nadal. The two are great rivals, but however there is also great respect between them. Djokovic commented on his rival’s situation: “The chance to facing against Nadal at Roland Garros is probably one of the biggest challenges on the tennis court. We know what records he has set there. I think I have played him there more than any other player. The court is like more bigger, there’s more space. That affects the feelings a player has on the court”.
Then Djokovic continued: “There are moments when he does not make many mistakes and seems impenetrable. He’s like a wall. It’s really a big challenge. He’s an incredible athlete. The tenacity and intensity he brings to the court, especially at Roland Garros, is something we have rarely seen in the history of the sport”. Rome’s fans hope to see the two rivals against each other one last time.
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