Rafael Nadal issues very honest statement on Grand Slam race with Novak Djokovic

09/18/2023 02:35 PM

Rafael Nadal says finishing without the all-time Grand Slam record "would have been a greater frustration" for Novak Djokovic than it would be for him. After Nadal won last year's Australian Open and French Open, he improved to 22 Grand Slams. Since then, Djokovic has won four Grand Slams and the Serb now owns the all-time Grand Slam record. With Nadal being 37 and recently undergoing surgery on his psoas, many believe the Grand Slam race is over. "I think Djokovic lives it in a more intense way. For him, it would have been a greater frustration not to achieve it," Nadal said on Movistar Plus+. 

Last week, Djokovic was in Valencia for the Davis Cup Finals group stage. In Spain, Djokovic was asked if he misses Nadal and Roger Federer. "I don't miss them, but I'm sure tennis misses them. These two are legends of our sport. They left a very great legacy both in tennis and in sports in general," Djokovic said last week during Davis Cup action. Earlier this year, Djokovic won his third French Open title. When Djokovic was asked at the start of the tournament how he felt about Nadal's French Open absence, the Serb insisted he would prefer more to win the tournament with Nadal in the draw. “I think that in a way, you're disappointed maybe more than anything that you don't get to play Rafa somewhere. And I would think for Novak Djokovic, he’s most probably the most disappointed player in the whole tournament. Because surely he would like to win his 23rd - his third French Open - by beating Rafa Nadal along the way," Djokovic of Nadal's French Open absence in May. Nadal surgically addressed his psoas injury in June and he is hoping to be ready to make his Slam return at the Australian Open.