Rafael Nadal forced to concede his bitter rival Novak Djokovic surprised him in 2023

Rafael Nadal appeared to be reluctant to praise Novak Djokovic after his sensational 2023 in an interview last month, but he has offered more fulsome priase of the world No 1 in his latest comments. 

Nadal suggested in an interview with Movistar+ that he believed Djokovic’s desire to create history was driving him forward, as he suggested that goal was never at the forefront of his mind.

When asked whether he was disappointed to see Djokovic move past him in the race to finish their respective careers with the most major titles Nadal responded with this comment.

“I’m not frustrated for a simple reason – within my possibilities, I’ve done all I can to make things happen for me,” said Nadal, in an interview with Agencia EFE.

“In that sense, I think he has better numbers than mine and that is indisputable. I don’t have an ego big enough to try to disguise a reality.

“This is the truth. The rest are sensations that one or the other (player) may transmit to you, that you may like one or the other more.

“I think that with respect to titles, Djokovic is the best in history and there is nothing to discuss in that.”

Nadal later clarified that comment and congratulated his rival, but Djokovic hinted he was not happy with the comment in an interview with Sportal.

“I’ve seen that his comments went viral, that many people spoke about it,” said Djokovic.

“Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion, how he interprets someone else in a certain context etc. That’s all I can say.

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“Rafa is a great champion and I respect and appreciate him as such – as a great champion, my biggest rival and as a player who contributed to shaping my game and to the results I’ve accomplished.”

Now Nadal has offered some fresh comments on Djokovic’s success in 2023, as he suggested the young guns aiming to knock him off the perch at the top of the game missed their chances to get the better of the Serbian.

“In the end, we all know that Djokovic is what he is and that he has achieved something historic, something that had never been achieved before and all that remains is to congratulate him and in the end it did not surprise me either,” said Nadal.

“I imagined Djokovic winning Grand Slam but I didn’t imagine that he would win three because I think there is another young generation that is very powerful.”

Nadal is attempting to make a comeback to the top level of the game after missing nearly all of 2023 due to a hip problem and he has admitted he doesn’t want to put a date on when he will be ready to return.

“If I set dates and I don’t keep them, I add disappointments that I don’t need, because I have already had enough disappointments at a sporting and physical level in recent times,” he added.

“So I don’t need to set any dates; I go about my day and I’m honestly improving. I’m better now than a month ago and I hope in a month and a half I’ll be able to tell the news, I’m going there or I’m going there.

“It is logical that I have discomfort. I had a hip operation and they had to do a very invasive, very complicated operation, and having discomfort is part of the equation and the discomfort is more tolerable now that it is done week. And this is the positive.

“Let’s not just say that I have discomfort because in the end let’s say that I have less discomfort than weeks ago and this is the way I see it.”

The tennis world would relish the opportunity to see another epic Djokovic vs Nadal showdown before their careers come to a close, but it remains to be seen whether one half of this great rivalry can get back on court to challenge for more titles.