Tennis: Nadal on his knees in front of Djokovic, he admits defeat
Published on February 16, 2024 at 6:50 p.m.
Holder of a Master’s degree in sports journalism, I fell in love with tennis since childhood and have always loved reading the great stories of this sport. Today, I want to tell them about them, take full advantage of my passion and be as close as possible to the aces of the circuit.
Still injured, Rafael Nadal is still delaying his return to competition and will only be present in official competition at Indian Wells. The Spaniard must prepare carefully to hope to experience final success without suffering. Dumped in the race for Grand Slam titles, he reissued his statements concerning his great rival Novak Djokovic, who still dominates the circuit at almost 37 years old.
Questioned at length in an interview for a Spanish program, El Objetivo, Rafael Nadal spoke in detail about his current situation. Unable to compete physically on the court, he announced that he still needed time before returning to competition. The Majorcan was also questioned about the domination of Novak Djokovic who surpassed him in the number of titles in Grand Slam.
“If Djokovic is the best player in history? Yes of course “
While he had already responded similarly a few months ago, Rafael Nadal gave his opinion in the eternal question of the GOAT which has been proliferating on the circuit for years but which finally seems to have found a logical end. The Majorcan was not embarrassed by admitting it. “If Djokovic is the best player in history? Yes, of course it is. The numbers say it. I have no problem (to say so, editor’s note). I’ve never had such an ego to say things that I don’t feel,” he says.
Injuries that played a big role
In the race for the greatest player of all time, Rafael Nadal had made an impression by becoming the first to exceed 20 titles in Grand Slam. The Mallorcan then experienced difficult times since he was injured and since then, he has hardly been able to play again. Moreover, his body seems to be his main adversary since his debut, an element that he did not fail to mention when talking about Novak Djokovic. “At the end of the day, you could say, ‘Yes, I was injured in so many Grand Slams and he wasn’t,’ but he had a better body than mine. And that counts too,” he recalls.
Extraordinary mental management
Renowned for being a fierce fighter on the court, Rafael Nadal also wanted to highlight the efforts of Novak Djokovic on the court to almost always emerge victorious in his matches. “The frustration lasts until he breaks the racket, then he is ready to return to the fight 100%. This is the reason why he achieved the greatest number of victories in the history of our sport,” he confides.
2024-02-16 17:50:00
#Tennis #Nadal #knees #front #Djokovic #admits #defeat
