Novak Djokovic was straight honest when asked by Serbian reporters if he considers Rafael Nadal “his brother,” highlighting that there was “no brotherhood” between them but just a huge mutual respect.
On Monday, Djokovic, 37, and 38-year-old Nadal clashed against each other for the 60th time. And it happened at Roland Garros, where Nadal is the biggest icon and at the place where Djokovic struggled for many years to make a breakthrough against the Spaniard.
But in their Paris Olympics clash and a match that marked a special milestone, it was Djokovic who won 6-1 6-4 to improve to 31-29 in his head-to-head against Nadal.
In the past, the Serbian record 24-time Grand Slam champion declared Nadal “his biggest rival” many times. And following his win over Nadal – in what was possibly their last-ever meeting – the 37-year-old Serb was addressing their iconic rivalry when reporters from his country asked a very interesting question.
While Djokovic honestly answered that he does not consider Nadal a brother, he noted that they could possibly become friends after their pro careers are over.
“There is no brotherhood, it is more of a rivalry, collegiality, mutual respect because of everything we have achieved during our careers. It is very difficult to be close, we are the biggest rivals, I don’t want to tell him some ‘inside’ things about life, about how you feel because that can be used against you,” Djokovic told Serbian media.
“That’s why you can’t keep such people at this level so close. But, who knows, when both of our careers are over, we have a long life ahead of us, we are family people, and I hope we can turn our lives around and live them in a different way.”
Djokovic on if he would like Nadal to continue his career
After the French Open, Nadal said that he would wait for the Paris Olympics to finish to decide on his next move. With that being said, there is a chance that the 22-time Grand Slam champion will decide to call it a career after the Olympics.
But while Djokovic has a winning head-to-head record against Nadal and has won the Slam battle between them, he would like to see his biggest rival stay in pro tennis for at least a little bit more.
“There’s no other rivalry in the history of tennis that’s had 60 matches between the two players. So I think that itself makes it very, very unique and very special,” Djokovic said.
“I just hope for the sake of our rivalry and the sport in general that we’ll get to face each other once or maybe a few times, on different surfaces, in different parts of the world, because I feel like it can only benefit the sport. I don’t know how he feels in his body, what his plans are, but let’s hope we can play some more.
Also, Djokovic noted that even if Nadal continues his career, their opportunities to face may be limited since they would very likely select tournaments where they compete.
“We don’t know that. It really depends on many different factors. I mean, it depends on whether both of us will keep going or whether we’re going to participate in the same tournaments or not. I think we both want to play in the Grand Slams and the biggest tournaments. I don’t know. We’ll probably be very selective,” Djokovic explained.
Nadal had a blunt message for reporters after the Djokovic match
Basically since the start of his comeback in Brisbane, Nadal has been asked in pretty much every press conference and interview about the prospect of him playing beyond 2024.
To no one’s surprise, the 38-year-old Spaniard was again asked about his retirement plans following the Djokovic loss. And that’s when he made it clear to reporters that he was getting extremely fed up with constant retirement questions.
“I cannot live every single day with the feeling that it’s going to be, or not going to be, my last match. I come here, I try my best, I play. And when I decide to stop playing, or when I decide to keep going, I will let you know. I don’t know. If I feel that I am not competitive enough to keep going or physically I am not … ready to keep going, I will stop, and I will let you know,” Nadal said.
After arriving in Paris, Nadal said that he would play the Laver Cup in late September. But apart from that, there are no any guarantees.
