"I cannot hope for Rafael Nadal not being in the final, I can hope for myself in final": When Novak Djokovic joked about winning 2nd French Open title
Novak Djokovic playfully referenced Rafael Nadal when discussing his chances of winning a second French Open title in 2020. The Serb made these remarks following his victory at the Italian Open that year as he geared up for the Claycourt Slam.
Djokovic kicked off his Rome campaign with a win over wildcard Salvatore Caruso in the second round, having received a first-round bye. He then defeated Filip Krajinovic, Dominik Koepfer, and Casper Ruud before knocking out Diego Schwartzman in the final to lift the ATP Masters 1000 tournament trophy for the fifth time.
Following his victory over Schwartzman, who had earlier triumphed over the 'King of Clay' Nadal in the quarterfinals, Djokovic spoke to the media where he was asked about his chances of securing his second Roland-Garros title.
The Serb responded in a light-hearted manner, saying that while he couldn't exactly count on the then 12-time tournament champion Nadal not being in the final, he could certainly guarantee his own determination to vie for the trophy.
"Well, I cannot hope for Rafa [Nadal] not being in the finals (smiling). I can hope for myself being in the final and fighting for the trophy," Djokovic said.
"I mean, that's probably the player that has the highest chance of being in the final in French Open, and any tournament, for that matter. I mean, if there is one tournament, sorry, if there is one tournament, that's Roland-Garros and that's Rafa that you would bet on," he added.
Novak Djokovic: "Diego Schwartzman showed that Rafael Nadal is beatable on clay, so, let's see"
During the same press conference, Novak Djokovic claimed that despite Rafael Nadal's loss in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open, it would be unwise to discount him as a favorite for the French Open title.
"It's Nadal. Even though he lost this week, I still think, you know, a lot of people will agree, he's the No. 1 favorite and, you know, the record that he has there, the history of his results, you just can't put anybody in front of him," Djokovic said.
However, the Serb added that the Spaniard's loss to Diego Schwartzman only indicated that he was not unbeatable on claycourts.
"But, you know, definitely Diego showed that Nadal is beatable on clay. The conditions that they played on, obviously heavy clay, not much bounce, humid, night session, we are going to have that, as well, in Paris," Djokovic said.
"So, yeah, let's see. It's going to be interesting. I think even though he's the No. 1 favorite, I think there are players that can win against him there," he added.
Djokovic and Nadal met in the final of the 2020 French Open where the Spaniard got the last laugh, defeating his arch-rival 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to win his 20th Major title overall.