"Australian Open is much more important than any player" says Nadal on Djokovic potentially missing the event

Rafael Nadal was asked during an interview whether Novak Djokovic missing the Australian Open would hurt the event and the Spaniard took an interesting stance. In his mind events are more important than players because they are what remains constant in the tennis world. According to Rafa players come and go:

"Australian Open is much more important than any player. If he's playing finally, OK. If he's not playing, Australian Open will be a great Australian Open with or without him."

Nadal also clarified that's it's the same for any players, him, Djokovic, Federer or even the older generations. Many greats played at these events and even when they retired the events continued to be great.

Nadal also reiterated his hope that everything will be concluded soon:

"From my point of view, there is a lot of questions that need to be answered. In some ways, I think it will be good if everything is clarified soon. Everyone chooses his road. I wish him all the best. I really respect him, even if I do not agree with a lot of things that he did the last couple of weeks."