Novak Djokovic has revealed the most important lesson he has learned from his greatest rival Rafael Nadal as he outlined the 22-time Slam champion’s “incredible tenacity and combativeness.”
According to Novak, Nadal’s level of tenacity is intimidating and compared facing the Spaniard to “entering a bullfight”.
The legendary duo makes one of sport’s greatest rivalries with a record 59 meetings between them. Djokovic leads Nadal 30-29 in the clashes spread over a period of 16 years from 2006 to 2022.
Djokovic and Nadal also lead the men’s GS leaderboard as #1 and #2 for the most men’s GS singles titles. The Serbian sealed a record-extending 24th major title in the New York earlier in September while Nadal is the second most successful tennis player with 22nd slams.
Nadal’s last major came at 2022 Roland Garros and has not competed since picking a hip injury in his R2 loss to Mackenzie McDonald at 2023 Australian Open. The Mallorcan underwent surgery on the issue in June and has been out of action since.
Talking with John McEnroe in an ESPN interview, the world No. 1, highlighted the biggest thing he has learned from his arch-nemesis.
“What I learned the most from Rafael Nadal was this spirit of: ‘Never die, never give up.’ This is arguably the most courage we have seen from a player,” said the 36-year-old.
“He shows incredible tenacity and combativeness on the field and in the locker room. This level of tenacity intimidates you. That’s what you feel when you play against him. It’s like you’re entering a bullfight.”
The Serbian also talked about his rival’s injury-enforced withdrawal from this year’s Roland Garros as he missed the Parisian clay for the first time since 2004 because of the injured hip.
“Honestly, I don’t miss him being in the draw. I don’t like seeing him in the draw of Roland Garros (laughs),” Djokovic said in a press conference.
“I have had not so much success against him in our head-to-head record in Roland Garros. I’ve managed to beat him twice, but I had to leave my heart and my guts out on the court to achieve that.
“A lot of people retired him already 10 years ago but he kept going, which is something I respect and admire. I know how hard it is to maintain that level and keep going even after having a tough injury.
“I have to say that he’s my biggest rival. When he announced that he’s going to have his last season of [his] career, I felt part of me is leaving with him too. I feel that he was one of the most impactful people that I have ever had in my career, the growth of my career and me as a player.
“Definitely a great motivational factor for me to keep playing and keep competing and keep pushing each other – who’s going achieve more, who’s going to do better.”