‘He’s my greatest rival of all time,’ Novak Djokovic wary of a possible semifinal showdown against Rafael Nadal in Madrid
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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
Tennis has seen some great rivalries lasting decades but probably the greatest among them is between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Having first met in 2006, the two have played each other a record 58 times with Djokovic marginally leading the H2H 30-28. They have the highest H2H stand in tennis history, even more than Federer-Nadal or Djokovic-Federer.
The two greats last met each other last year in the French Open semifinal where Djokovic stunned Nadal and went on to win the title. This week in Madrid too, the two players are drawn in the same half and are projected to meet in the semifinals. For that to happen, the two players will have to tackle strong opponents courtesy of a very packed top half of the draw.
Djokovic has already won his opening match after beating Frenchman Gael Monfils in straight sets for an 18th consecutive time in straight sets 6-3,6-2 and will now face long-time rival Andy Murray in the third round on Thursday.
After his win, Djokovic was asked his thoughts about having Nadal in the same half of the draw as him to which he replied that it affects him because Rafa is his greatest rival of all time. “Well, of course, it affects me because he’s my greatest rival of all time,” he said.
The great Novak Djokovic-Rafael Nadal rivalry
Djokovic has time and again said that Nadal is his greatest rival of all time given the intense number of battles they’ve had over the years. Their rivalry is more than 15v years old and the duo has played a whopping 29 tour finals against each other which includes 9 grand slam finals.
The Serb has a slightly better H2H record standing at 30-28 and he would once again want to repeat his performance on clay, like last year against a wounded Nadal.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2595 Articles Published)