"Very sad news" - Rafael Nadal on Djokovic missing US Open

Rafael Nadal is very sad about Novak Djokovic missing the 2022 US Open as the event should have the best players there.

Rafael Nadal admitted in a press conference ahead of this year's US Open that he's sad about Djokovic missing the event but it makes things easier for him. Nadal wants to win the trophy and not having Djokovic there makes that far more likely. Even so, he showed sympathy for Djokovic following the news:

"From my personal perspective, it is very sad news. It's always a shame when the best players of the world are not able to play a tournament because of injuries or because of different reasons. In this case, not having one of the best players of the history in the draw of Grand Slam is always an important miss."

Nadal also admitted that tennis once again proved that it's bigger than any player including Djokovic, himself or somebody else:

“As I said, it’s tough for the fans, tough for the tournament. In my opinion, tough for the players, too, because we want to have the best field possible. But on the other hand, I repeat what I said plenty of times: the sport in some ways is bigger than any player."