Novak Djokovic credits Nadal and Federer for shaping him as a player, reveals dream scenario for 60th match against Spaniard at French Open final
Novak Djokovic has once again showered praise on two of his biggest rivals — Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — saying that they had the biggest contributions towards him becoming a great player. He also expressed his excitement at the prospect of meeting Nadal in 2023's French Open final.
The Big 3 have dominated tennis over the last two decades in an unimaginable manner. While Pete Sampras' 14 Majors seemed unbelievable to the world, the three players reached 20 Grand Slam titles. They hold a combined tally of 64 majors, 20 for the Swiss maestro and 22 each for the Serb and the Spaniard.
The World No. 1, who leads Nadal 30-29 in the biggest rivalry among men, held a press conference in Belgrade earlier today (February 22). He was asked about a possible 60th meeting with the 36-year-old at the 2023 French Open. Djokovic stated that he would like it to happen in the final in Paris. If this happens, it would mean that one of the two greats will become a 23-time Grand Slam champion.
"60. match? Roland Garros final! I think he and I would both agree that it should be there. He is definitely my biggest rival," Djokovic said. "Not only because of the number of matches, we are generationally close."
"We grew up through the juniors together, although he started to have excellent professional results much earlier. Federer and he shaped me the most as a player," the Serb added.
The 2023 Australian Open champion added that Nadal is dangerous when healthy and that the two would try to keep the Majors among themselves for as long as they could.
"While we are active, we do not allow ourselves and have no time to dwell on the magnitude and importance of our rivalry. When we're done, I'd like to talk about it privately. We'll see where the next match is. He's at the top when he's healthy. We boys make sure that the youngsters don't take the slams yet," Novak added.
"Proud to have set another record" - Novak Djokovic on equaling Steffi Graf for weeks at No. 1
Novak Djokovic equaled Steffi Graf's record of spending the highest number of weeks (377) at the top of the rankings recently and is set to create a new record by surpassing her on the coming Monday (February 27). In his press conference, the Serb expressed his satisfaction, saying that he was proud of his achievement.
"I am extremely proud to have set another record, this time the record of Steffi Graf," he said. "I have [dedicated] everything in my life to this sport. I am lucky to have a great team of people around me and the unreserved support of my family on this journey."
Djokovic confirmed his participation in the ATP 500 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, starting February 27.