Rafael Nadal on what he admires most about Novak Djokovic: "To control his body, doesn't matter how things are going, he always keeps going till the end"
Rafael Nadal lavished praise on his arch-rival Novak Djokovic in a recent interview, hailing the Serb for how far he is willing to go to stick to his principles. Whether it be his passion, his professionalism or his stance on bodily autonomy, the Spaniard was in awe of Djokovic for sticking to his guns, regardless of whether the public sentiment turned against him or not.
Speaking in a conversation with other participants of the 2022 ATP Finals on media day, the 22-time Grand Slam champion pointed out how difficult it was to remain steadfast about one's beliefs, especially in a career as long as Djokovic's. For all those reasons, and for his love of the game, the World No. 2 was in complete admiration of Djokovic.
"I think I have to say to Novak, he's able to be super professional, to control his body, to hold the passion, doesn't matter how things are going, he always keeps going till the end and that's something very difficult, especially in a super long career after all the success," Nadal said. "To keep having the passion and love for the game, I think's it's something that I admire a lot."
The 21-time Grand Slam champion repaid the honor soon after, saying that he was "really privileged" to have such a strong rivalry with the 36-year-old. Novak Djokovic also declared that their mutual respect helped push each other to the limit, serving as additional motivation to keep one-upping one another.
"I'm really privileged to have the rivalry that we had over the years, I think we respect each other a lot and we push each other to the limit and kind of motivate each other to go even higher, so it's great to be part of that there," Djokovic said.
"Them playing against each other was some of the most exciting things you could watch in sports" - Casper Ruud on what he admires most about Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic
During the same conversation, Casper Ruud also weighed in on what he admired most about his fellow players Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, recalling how everyone else in the room must have grown up watching the duo battle it out. In the Norwegian's opinion, watching Nadal and Djokovic play against each other was one of the "most exciting" things in sports.
"Rafa, Novak, the ones we saw on TV all out childhood, I think everyone in the room, everything they have brought to the table and every match is pure passion," Ruud said. "Them playing against each other was some of the most exciting things you could watch in sports, in my opinion."
Daniil Medvedev also chipped in, calling the duo, along with the recently retired Roger Federer, the "best" tennis players of all-time. The Russian pointed out how people had been doubtful about both the Spaniard and the Serb during the up-and-coming years, adding that he admired them both for proving their detractors wrong.
"I already felt that Roger, Rafa, Novak, they're just the best tennis players of all-time. People around me, they were like, yeah, Rafa is finished. You know, he's injured. Rafa proved so many times that it's not like this," Medvedev said. "About Novak, when he just came on the tour, everybody is like, yeah, this young guy is not going to achieve much compared to Roger and Rafa and he proved everybody wrong. That's what I admire."