"He's so important for our game on and off the court" :Djokovic awaiting return of Nadal

Novak Djokovic has tremendous respect for Rafael Nadal calling him his greatest rival and a player that pushed him to become as good as he ultimately became.

Nadal is not playing tennis right now because of his injury for which he underwent a surgery recently. It's a disappointing thing for all tennis fans including Djokovic who has always spoken about how events should have all the best players taking part. That's not the case right now and Djokovic took some moments during his press conference to talk about Nadal.

Speaking on Nadal, Djokovic remmebered his own surgery and how tricky it is to come back:

“It was his birthday yesterday, and he announced that he got his surgery. I got one surgery in my career on the elbow, and I know how hard it is to get back. It's just one of those things that you don't want any athlete to go through. Sometimes I guess it's necessary. For him it's been several times now throughout his career. I don't know what the severity of or the nature of his injury is, but, you know, if he got on a surgery table, it means there was no other solution."

Like many Djokovic hopes to see Nadal heal quickly and to see him on the court next year because he's simply too important for tennis:

“So, you know, I really hope that, yeah, his rehabilitation process can go well and that we can see him next season. I think that he's so important for our game on and off the court, one of the greatest legends of tennis in the history of the game.We want to see healthy Rafa, no question about it, playing for what he has announced his last season. You know, hopefully he's gonna be able to do that.”