Novak Djokovic has claimed that Rafael Nadal stopped liking his impressions of him after the Serb started winning against him.
Djokovic and Nadal are widely considered to be two of the greatest tennis players of all time, meaning that their rivalry has gone down in the sport's history books as one of the most thrilling of the Open Era.
The two players faced each other a total of 59 times, including across all four Grand Slam finals. At the 2012 Australian Open final, the pair locked horns for a grueling five hours and fifty-three minutes, making it the longest major finals match in history.
Djokovic has long been known for impersonating other players and Nadal was no exception. The Serb would imitate the Spaniard's routine between points - rolling up his sleeves and pulling at his shorts.
Djokovic recently claimed that Nadal was fine with these impressions early on, but as the now-36-year-old started to beat him in matches more often, he found it less amusing.
"Early on in my career, when he was kicking my a** on court, he was ok with that. But when I started winning a few matches I felt like the energy shifted a bit," Djokovic said.
Overall, the youngest of the Big Three narrowly leads their head-to-head 30-29.
This revelation comes shortly after Djokovic impersonated Ben Shelton in the semi-finals of the US Open. After the American achieved a surprise victory over tenth seed Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals, he mimed picking up a receiver phone and hanging up. Afterward, he claimed it was to show that he was 'dialed in.'
However, after Djokovic won their semi-final clash in straight sets, the Serb imitated the gesture, leading to some backlash online from fans who said it was 'disrespectful' and 'unnecessary.'
Novak Djokovic says Rafa Nadal stopped liking his impersonations when he started winning against him: “Early on in my career, when he was kicking my a** on court, he was ok with that. But when I started winning a few matches I felt like the energy shifted a bit." (via ESPN)
