After Novak Djokovic’s advancement into the third round of the French Open, the world No. 1 declared Rafael Nadal to be his greatest opponent ever.
In slightly over two hours, Djokovic defeated Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 on Court Philippe-Chatrier to advance.
At his post-match press conference, Djokovic praised the Spaniard’s backhand advances and expressed his frustration about having to play against Nadal in Paris to complete a career Grand Slam.
Djokovic stated his remarks about Nadal recently and said: “I’ve said it many times. He has been the greatest rival that I ever had. Matches against him on clay have frustrated me so much in my career (smiling), but they also made me a better player and made me understand what it takes, you know, to try to surpass him and try to win at least once or twice on Roland Garros. I said it on the court the other day.”
He further said: “It’s the highest mountain to climb, really, always for me to win Roland Garros, particularly because of Nadal, because I always have to win against him to get to the title. So, yeah, we had some fantastic matches here.”
Djokovic added that he had seen Nadal’s improvements throughout the years that they had competed at the highest level of men’s tennis, with his backhand being the most notable development.
Djokovic continued: “I have experienced first-hand his evolution as a player. I think that he has improved his backhand as he gets older. He was probably conscious of the physical struggles that he had, and he had to be more aggressive. He was still top-spinning the forehand better than anybody has ever done, and he still kept that incredible defence and offence on the forehand, but I think with [his] backhand, he was just able to handle the high balls better than he was at the beginning of our encounters.”
Novak Djokovic says Rafa Nadal is the greatest rival he’s ever had, ‘Winning Roland Garros is the highest mountain to climb for me because I always had to win against him to get the title’
“l’ve said it many times. He has been the greatest rival that I ever had. Matches against… pic.twitter.com/mrbpCvhIu7
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 30, 2024
Djokovic at the French Open, ranking, and results in 2024
LWWWWWWLWW Now ranked no.1, the Serbian has achieved a composed 16-6 win-loss record in 2024. The Serbian is currently competing at the French Open where he overcame the world no.142 Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-4 7-63 6-4 and the world no.63 Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4 6-1 6-2.
Novak Djokovic will play the world no.30 Lorenzo Musetti in the 3rd round. Their record is 4-1 for Djokovic.
The Serbian won 98 titles in his career: 52 on hard courts, 19 on clay courts, 19 on indoor courts and 8 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Djokovic is scheduled to play next at the Wimbledon (Wimbledon). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 1st of July.
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Now ranked no.275, Nadal played his last match on the 27th of May when he lost to world no.4 Alexander Zverev 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 in the 1st round of the French Open (draw).
This season Rafael achieved an overall 7-5 record.
Nadal is scheduled to compete next at the Wimbledon (Wimbledon). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 1st of July.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal clashed against each other 59 times. Their current record is 30-29 for Djokovic. Previously, the last time they competed against each other, Rafael Nadal won 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4) in the quarter in Paris (French Open) in May 2022.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
