Journalist shuts down talk of bad blood between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic at Laver Cup
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are teammates for the first time in their illustrious careers at this weekend's Laver Cup. The two tennis legends, who hold a combined 43 Grand Slam singles titles, were spotted eating lunch together on Thursday, the eve of the tournament.
In a photo posted by tennis journalist Yasmin Syed, the two players can be seen eating at the cafeteria at the O2 Arena. Soon after, there was wide speculation that the rivals did not get along quite as well with each other, and the teammates for the weekend were there for a 'formal' sit-down.
43 Grand Slam titles having lunch https://t.co/WlvvFK7nVH
However, Syed shed further light on the same, revealing that Nadal and Djokovic had a deep, long conversation for quite a while at the lunch table. Syed stated that Casper Ruud also joined them later and the trio were conversing for a long time before Djokovic left.
"Lots of people getting vibes that they don’t like each other from this? They were deep in conversation for a long time during lunch. Ruud came a bit later and Djokovic stayed stood talking to them for ages after finishing his food before he left the site for the day," Syed wrote on Twitter.
Lots of people getting vibes that they don’t like each other from this? They were deep in conversation for a long time during lunch. Ruud came a bit later and Djokovic stayed stood talking to them for ages after finishing his food before he left the site for the day.
Speculation regarding their off-court camaraderie has been there for a long time now owing to their hard-fought on-court rivalry that has seen them fight for the biggest titles in tennis over the last 15-plus years. However, the two players have always maintained that they respect each other greatly and admire one another's achievements over the years.
During a recently-released interview given by Djokovic in 2020, the Serb stated that Nadal and himself were "never really close," adding that it was difficult for them to be close friends while also being great rivals on the tennis court.
"Well, look, we have to define what close friends means. We were never really as close as I would be close with my childhood friends or he would with his," Djokovic said during an interview with Graham Bensinger.
"We push each other, we drive each other to be the best we could possibly be with the tennis racquet on the court. It's just it's really hard [to be close friends] because [we are each other’s] main rivals," he added.
Having said that, he further highlighted that both he and Nadal respect each other as main rivals, setting an example for the younger generation.
"But we always had respect for each other because, I think, we are all aware of how many kids look at us, look what we do, what we say, how we behave towards each other and towards the sport, towards other people," he stated.
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic reunite with Big 4 rivals Roger Federer and Andy Murray
In a treat for tennis fans, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray took to the court at the same time for some doubles practice on Thursday at the Laver Cup.
Nadal and Federer, who will play together in Federer's final career match on Friday night, played some intense rallies against the pairing of Murray and Djokovic. The iconic tennis quartet then posed for photos and interviews and 'broke the internet,' so to say, on Thursday.
They were also part of the Laver Cup opening night gala dinner, introducing each other on stage during the event. While Federer will not play any more matches at the 2022 Laver Cup, other combinations of the Big 4 could be seen in doubles matches at the Laver Cup weekend.
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