Novak Djokovic has described why he finds it tough to be friends with Rafael Nadal, after the Serbian defeated his opponent at the Paris Olympics.
Djokovic defeated Nadal 6-4, 6-1, in one hour and 44 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier yesterday afternoon.
Djokovic is now the first person to beat Nadal three times at Stade Roland Garros, having previously defeated the Spaniard twice.
When asked about their connection after the match, Djokovic stated that he is not particularly close to Nadal: “I guess there is no brotherhood actually. It’s more rivalry among coworkers, respect for one another’s achievements, and appreciation for what we’ve accomplished and provided to the sport.”
The 37-year-old added, “It’s difficult to get close. [We’re] greatest rivals, and you don’t want to reveal details about your life or how you feel because it could expose you.
“I guess that’s one of the reasons why we didn’t connect so close and I don’t think at that level you can really connect so close to anybody really.”
15 – Novak Djokovic is the first player to win 15 Men's Singles matches at the Olympics since tennis returned to the Summer Olympic program in Seoul 1988. Zeus.#Olympics #OlympicGames #Paris2024 | @Paris2024 @atptour pic.twitter.com/2VRLcnWCu5
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) July 29, 2024
Despite this, Djokovic has not ruled out becoming closer to Nadal once the two retire from the sport. “But who knows? When both of our careers expire, we aim to have a long life together; we’re both family people, and we hope to be able to address the many aspects of our relationship and reflect on things we went through together, that we lived together, and the important times in a different way.”
Their match in the second round of the Paris Olympic Games marked the pair’s 60th meeting, the most matches between two men in the Open Era.
With much debate over Nadal’s future in the sport, Djokovic disclosed whether he believed this was their final showdown.
“Of course it could be, but we don’t know,” Djokovic responded. “It actually relies on a variety of things, including whether both of us will continue to compete in the same tournaments or not. I believe we both want to play in the Grand Slams and major tournaments.
“I’m not sure, but we’ll probably be pretty selective. I can speak for myself, and I’ll be quite selective about the events I play. I simply hope that for the sake of our rivalry and the sport in general, we can face each other once or twice, on different surfaces and in different parts of the world, since I believe it will only promote the sport.
The 24-time major winner added, “But, as I previously stated, I don’t know how he feels in his body or what his plans are; let’s hope we can play some more.” I hope we get to play more since each match is like a gift to both us and the sport.”
Glad our epic rivalry is still a blockbuster, @RafaelNadal. Good luck in the doubles. Idemooo Srbija! 🇷🇸 Слава Богу 🙏🏼🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/A6T5OJIxRn
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) July 30, 2024
Djokovic appears to be backing up his statement about playing certain tournaments after it was confirmed that he would not compete in the upcoming Masters 1000 event in Montreal.
The Serbian will face German Dominik Koepfer tomorrow in his pursuit of the elusive gold medal.
Inside the baseline…
It was a pretty emphatic victory for Novak Djokovic over great rival Rafael Nadal, who did manage a late fightback towards the end, but it was just not enough. It has always been clear that Djokovic and Nadal are not the best of friends, while they still have a lot of respect for each other as such fierce rivals over the years. Like Djokovic suggested, they could hopefully become better friends after retiring from the sport and it would not be the first time that has happened, with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova a perfect example of that!
