Former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal dropped a major praise on one of his biggest rivals, calling Novak Djokovic a “perfect and flawless tennis player.” Nadal, 35, and 34-year-old Djokovic have had many big battles over the course of their respective careers and their rivalry is one of the biggest in tennis history.
In their last meeting, world No. 1 Djokovic surprised Nadal in the French Open semifinal. “Djokovic is a perfect and flawless player. He can play on every surface. He is amazingly consistent as well this year, even when he seems to be in bad shape, his eagerness for win makes up for it,” Nadal told Number Web.
Nadal determined to make a successful comeback
Unfortunately for Nadal, his 2021 season was marked by injuries and in August he decided to call it a season due to a persistent foot injury. “After coming back from Toronto, I took a couple of days to think about it.
I needed to talk with my family, with my team and with my doctors especially to understand what is going on. But the foot is not the proper way today,” Nadal said. “During the past year I was not practising and preparing myself the way that I need to to be competitive at the standards that I want to be, so we had to take that decision.
But I am confident that I will recover 100 per cent and I will be able to fight again for the most important things. “The injury is nothing new. It is the same injury that I have had since 2005. In that moment, the doctors were very negative about my future career, but I was able to have a career that I never dreamed about.
So I am confident that I will recover again the foot and if the foot is better, I am confident that my tennis and my mentality will be there again soon.”