© Getty Photographs Sport – Chris Hyde
Rafael Nadal insists it was “by no means” his intention to intimidate Novak Djokovic after the Serb stunningly confessed that he was once intimidated by the Spaniard early in his profession.
In 2006, Djokovic and Nadal had their first French Open assembly. That yr, Nadal had a 6-4 6-4 lead over Djokovic when the Serb retired because of harm. Within the subsequent two years, the 2 met once more at Roland Garros as Nadal claimed back-to-back French Open semifinal wins over Djokovic in 2007 and 2008.
In a latest look on 60 Minutes on CBS Information, Djokovic revealed that he was intimidated by Nadal when sharing the locker room with him at Roland Garros early in his profession. Explaining why, Djokovic stated that Nadal was leaping round, doing sprints, and having his music turned up so loud that he may hear what the Spaniard was listening to.
“It was by no means, by no means, by no means my intention. I heat up like this. I attempt to be ready and able to go, and I train, nothing extra. I have not heard what he stated, actually,” Nadal advised El Pais.
Nadal is Djokovic’s largest rival
Djokovic, 36, and 37-year-old Nadal have created probably the most iconic and biggest tennis rivalries. To this point, the 2 have performed in opposition to one another 59 instances and Djokovic owns a 30-29 head-to-head in opposition to Nadal. Through the years, Djokovic has a number of instances declared Nadal as his “largest rival.”
Once they had been simply beginning, it was a fairly one-sided head-to-head as Nadal was often beating Djokovic. After beating Djokovic within the 2009 Madrid semifinal, Nadal improved to 14-4 in opposition to Djokovic. Since then, Djokovic has utterly circled his head-to-head in opposition to Nadal.
Largely because of Nadal’s accidents, the 2 have not performed because the 2022 French Open quarterfinal, when the Spaniard beat Djokovic en path to successful his 14th title at Roland Garros. When Nadal confirmed his 2024 comeback, Djokovic stated he wish to meet the Spaniard not less than yet another time and particularly talked about that he wish to play his largest rival at Roland Garros.
