Novak
Djokovic has expressed his desire to play
Rafael Nadal on clay again.
Nadal and
Djokovic have faced each other 10 times at the French Open, with eight wins for
the Spanish player and two for the Serbian. This is the tournament that has
seen the most matches between the two all-time Grand Slam winners. In total,
the rivalry between both players has had 59 encounters, the highest record in
tennis history, with Nole leading 30-29 so far.
Djokovic
will likely not be able to play in the Sunshine Double due to his request to
enter the United States being denied, so he would return in Monte Carlo to
start playing on clay. Meanwhile, Nadal is recovering from an injury and is
also expected to appear in clay tournaments, although the Spaniard was cautious
in announcing which tournaments, he will be able to play. The Serbian player
anticipated that he hopes to play against Nadal on clay again.
“If it's
not a possibility, my friend, I wouldn't be playing tennis.", said
Djokovic.
He also
added that he still hopes to play in the USA, but in case he is not allowed, he
will take some time to prepare for the next tournaments.
“I'm still
waiting for the news from America. If there's no America, I guess I'll play
clay. Monte-Carlo is probably the next tournament. If that's the case, I'll
take some time off, I'll prepare. Clay, as we've said, is the most demanding
surface. It takes time more than any other surface to prepare for.”, said the
world No. 1.
The 22-time
Grand Slam champion said he is calm and ready to face the upcoming challenges
on the calendar.
“Look, the
year is long. I started off the year in a best possible way, winning many
matches in a row, winning Australian Open. That's the one that I looked for the
most. That was the priority in this part of the year. Of course, any other
tournament win is a bonus. I will always give everything I possibly can to play
my best tennis in every tournament. Yeah, look forward to the next
challenge”.