Tennis great Novak Djokovic recalled an interesting episode from one of his matches against arch-rival Rafael Nadal, saying the Spaniard’s high-octane pre-match routines intimidated him. Djokovic recalled how Nadal’s locker-room act threw him off the radar as the two players geared up to meet at the Roland Garros, the Spaniard’s favourite surface.
Facing Nadal on the red dirt is one of the most intimidating aspects of the sport and Djokovic said the Spaniard’s pre-match routines only made it that much more difficult early in his career. In fact, Djokovic’s first meeting of Nadal on the tour came in the quarter-final of French Open 2006 and the Serb retired midway through the match due to injury concerns.
While highlighting the impact of Nadal’s pre-game routine, Djokovic said he understood the importance of making that impression even before the contest begins on the court quite early in his career.
“I am playing Nadal in Roland Garros, and I have his locker next to my locker, right? So, we are so close. And we’re tryin’ to give each other space. But then the locker room is also not that big. And, the way you jump around like Nadal does before we go out on the court. In the locker room, he’s doing sprints next to you. I can even hear the music he’s listening to, you know, in his headphones. So, you know, it’s pi**ing me off,” Djokovic told Jon Wertheim on 60 Minutes.
“Absolutely. Early in my career, I didn’t realise all that was part of the scenario, right?
“So, I was getting intimidated by that. But it’s also motivating me to do stuff myself and to show that I’m ready, you know? I’m ready for a battle, for a war,” the Serb added.
Nadal and Djokovic have produced one of the greatest rivalries in tennis and, more often than not, their matches are decided by the barest of margins. As Djokovic kept getting better after a slow start to his career, it was often the mental aspect of the game that determined the winner when the two gladiators of the sport met on the court.
These two titans of the sport have faced off 59 times, with Djokovic holding a narrow lead of 30–29 in their overall head-to-head record. Their encounters are not just numerous but also significant, as they have clashed in all four major finals, marking a historic dimension to their competition.
Djokovic has the edge in finals of all levels with a 15–13 lead, while Nadal has proven more dominant at the majors, leading 11–7, including a 5–4 advantage in major finals. The breakdown of their matches across different surfaces reveals the nuances of their rivalry: Djokovic leads 20–7 on hard courts, Nadal leads 20–8 on clay, and they are tied 2–2 on grass.
It was in 2023 that Djokovic went past Rafael Nadal’s tally of 22 Grand Slam titles. The Serb won the Australian Open, the French Open, and the US Open after finishing runner-up in the Wimbledon final where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic finished the season as the No. 1 for the eighth time in his career after winning the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin.
