Rafael Nadal compared to Oscar loser after congratulating Novak Djokovic: ‘He’ll be cross’
Rafael Nadal may have publicly stated that he was not too bothered about Novak Djokovic surpassing him in the race for most Grand Slams, but deep down he will be “cross”, according to a former British No 1.
On the back of winning the 2022 Australian Open and French Open, Nadal found himself 22-20 ahead of Djokovic in terms of majors won by a man in the Open Era. However, the Serbian won Wimbledon last year and followed it up with titles at Melbourne Park and Roland Garros this year and now leads his rival 23-22.
Nadal, who has in the past stated that he does not care too much about the Grand Slam record, was quick to congratulate Djokovic “on the amazing achievement” after the French Open.
“Many congrats on the amazing achievement – 23 is a number that, a few years back, was impossible to think about. You made it. Enjoy it with your family and team,” he wrote on social media.
Despite the 37-year-old’s public comments, former British No 1 and BBC commentator says Nadal will agonise over losing the record in private as he liked the situation to that of an Oscar loser congratulating a rival.
“I do [think Rafa will be hurting],” he told Metro.co.uk. “It amuses me when somebody that used to hold a record no longer holds a record and everyone’s looking at their Twitter feed to see whether they send congratulations and how sincere it sounds!
“Then they get interviewed and you know, I mean, I saw [sprinter] Linford Christie had his 100 metre British record broken. And you know, do you think Linford really wanted somebody to beat his record? I mean, I don’t know, I doubt it very much.
“Make no mistake about it, Rafa will be looking at that and going you know, ’I want that back you know. Can we bring the French Open forward six months?’ – Of course it’s a bit like the women, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, the most fantastic rivalry, pushing themselves the whole way.
“When Roger Federer [had the] match points in the Wimbledon final against Djokovic that [Novak] won in 2019 I was thinking, ‘I wonder if that would be the difference’ – you know, I wondered if Federer would stay ahead of him. But sure enough, he didn’t.
“Yes, they want the records. They’re fully aware of it. And there’s no way in the world they want their record taken by anybody else, without doubt.
“It doesn’t matter what their public utterings are. It’s a bit like the Oscars when somebody goes ‘oh I’m so glad that they won’. I think they’re cross about it.”
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