Rafael Nadal was recently asked to comment about his rivalry with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. The Spanish sensation said that it would be interesting to see who would be the guy with the most Majors. Rafa talked about his early rivalry with Federer and the factor that Novak Djokovic arrived later. Eventually, Nadal conceded that they had pushed each other to the limit in improving their tennis.
“It’s true that I’m Federer’s first great rival, so I understand that he sees it that way,” said Nadal.
Then, when Novak arrived, it was true that Roger was better than me, but in the following years, I won more than him, and therefore, I also clashed several times with Djokovic on court. In other words, I was more of a rival to him [Djokovic] than to Roger.
In the end, I see it as something positive because it’s true that the 3 of us have improved a lot, but I don’t think any of us would have made it to 35 or older to be as competitive without the other two. Federer, Djokovic, and I pushed ourselves to the limit, to improve, to always be eager and want more.”
Rafael Nadal in 2022
Now the world no.2, the Spaniard played his last match on the 17th of November when he defeated world no.3 Casper Ruud 7-5 7-5 in the round robin in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
This year the Spaniard has managed to achieve an overall 39-8 win-loss record. The Spaniard clinched 4 titles in 2022 in Melbourne, Australian Open, Acapulco and French Open. The Spaniard reached the final in Indian Wells.
Nadal has scheduled to play next in Australian Open (Australian Open). He will start to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 16th of January.
Novak Djokovic in 2022
Ranked world no.5, the Serbian played his last match on the 20th of November when he defeated world no.3 Casper Ruud 7-5 6-3 in the final in the Nitto ATP Finals to win his 91st career title.
At present, during this year Novak has achieved an overall 42-7 win-loss record. The Serbian has won 5 titles in 2022 in Rome, Wimbledon, Tel Aviv, Astana and the Nitto ATP Finals. The Serbian reached the final in Belgrade and Paris.
He is also scheduled to play in Australian Open (Australian Open) after Adelaide. The main draw will start on the 1st of January.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic squared off 59 times. Their actual head to head record is 30-29 for Djokovic. Before, the last time they played each other, Rafael Nadal won 6-2 4-6 6-2 7-6(4) in the quarter in Paris (French Open) on the 31st of May 2022.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic |
| Embed from Getty Images |
