Novak Djokovic discusses what his relationship with Rafael Nadal is really like after their Olympics showdown

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Novak Djokovic described his relationship with Rafael Nadal after their 60th match against one another.

The two legends squared off for the first time in over two years in the second round of the Olympic Games.

This marked the 11th time the pair had met at Roland Garros, with the other 10 meetings taking place in the French Open Grand Slam.

Tennis fans all over the world were delighted to see the two compete once again, especially as it could be for the final time.

How did Novak Djokovic describe his relationship with Rafael Nadal?

Djokovic and Nadal have shared many of their greatest moments on court with one another and have produced arguably the greatest rivalry in men’s tennis.

The pair were fierce rivals and pushed each other to their limit as they competed for the top honours in the game on a consistent basis.

As a result, Djokovic believes they were unable to be close friends on tour but hopes that will change once the pair have finished their careers.

“There is no brotherhood, it is more of a rivalry, and mutual respect because of everything we have achieved during our careers,” Djokovic told reporters after defeating Nadal.

“It is very difficult to be close, we are the biggest rivals, I don’t want to tell him some ‘inside’ things about life, about how you feel because that can be used against you. That’s why you can’t keep such people at this level so close.

“But, who knows, when both of our careers are over, we have a long life ahead of us, we are family people, and I hope we can turn our lives around and live them in a different way.”

Novak Djokovic wins historic 60th battle with Rafael Nadal at Paris Olympics

In arguably the most highly-anticipated second round match in Olympic tennis history, Djokovic and Nadal took to the court to do battle.

The Serbian was the favourite before the match and showed why as he dominated the opening set for the loss of just one game.

He looked to be heading for a comprehensive win after opening up a 4-0 lead in the second set, but Nadal came roaring back.

He levelled the set a 4-4, but was unable to sustain his momentum as Djokovic broke straight back and closed out a 6-1, 6-4 win to advance to round four.

On Tuesday morning Djokovic took to social media platform X and posted a photo of his post-match handshake with Nadal and wrote: “Glad our epic rivalry is still a blockbuster @RafaelNadal. Good luck in the doubles.”