"Djokovic is a great athlete, a very good tennis player, but to be a great champion, it's Nadal" - Ion Tiriac
Ion Tiriac, the former owner of the Madrid Masters, described Novak Djokovic as a good athlete but said the Serb could not hold a candle to Rafael Nadal, who he feels is a "great champion" because of his humble demeanor.
The Romanian billionaire, who was in the top-10 of the ATP rankings back in his day, likened Djokovic to his former coach Boris Becker in an interview with Kurir Sport.
"Djokovic is looking for his place and he can't find it," Tiriac said. "He is like Becker, like a child who plays with fire and puts his hand up to see if it burns or not. Djokovic is a great athlete, a very good tennis player, but to be a great champion, it's Nadal! In my opinion, Nadal is, not in tennis, but in sports, a genius who stayed with both feet on the ground, who behaves the same as when he was 15."
Tiriac, who won the French Open doubles title in 1970, was pivotal in the development of the Madrid Masters as we know it. He was responsible for the blue clay debacle in 2012 but stayed on as owner until 2021, when he sold the tournament to IMG. Feliciano Lopez, an active player and veteran of the tour, has been the tournament director since 2019.
Tiriac also criticized Djokovic's vaccine stance in an interview with a TV show "Friends of Ovid," as quoted by first sportz.
“You don’t want what? You don’t want what 99 percent of people want and that’s why you’ll be in the 1 percent who aren’t allowed to move. You messed up everything from A to Z,” Tiriac said
Ion Tiriac: "Djokovic is a very good tennis player, but to be a great champion… It's Nadal! In my opinion, Rafa is a genius who stayed grounded, who behaves the same as when he was 15."
Djokovic had his first taste of action in 2022 at the Dubai Tennis Championships. The Serb reached the quarterfinals after defeating Lorenzo Musetti and Karen Khachanov. However, he was beaten by eventual runner-up Jiri Vesely in the last eight.
With Djokovic yet to be vaccinated against COVID-19, he may not be able to compete in a number of tournaments if they require mandatory vaccination. However, his chances of participating in the French Open received a major boost as France's government scrapped the COVID-19 vaccine pass.
Rafael Nadal has won all of his matches in 2022 so far
Rafael Nadal has had an incredible start to 2022, winning all 15 of his matches so far. The Spaniard won the Melbourne Summer Set without dropping a single set. He then won the Australian Open by making a sensational comeback in the final against Daniil Medvedev.
Next up for the Mallorcan was the Mexican Open, where he was seeded fourth. After beating three Americans, the 35-year-old beat Medvedev to reach the final. Here, he defeated Cameron Norrie to win his third title of the year. He did not drop a single set during the competition.
Rafa is in Indian Wells! 😍❤️ https://t.co/j3tyuGPIFf
The World No. 4 from Spain will next compete in the Indian Wells Masters and will be among the heavy favorites to win it given his recent run of form. The Spaniard last won the tournament in 2013 and will be aiming to get his hands on the trophy this year. However, there are a number of players who are capable of challenging for the title, particularly World No.1 Daniil Medvedev.