Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will meet for the 60th time on Monday’s second round clash at the Paris Olympics.
Tennis fans all over the globe will be settling down to see two legends of the sport meet for one final time.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have successfully forged arguably the biggest and best tennis rivalry of this generation.
Djokovic and Nadal’s best tennis matches of all time have come on all manner of surfaces with their marathon match at the Australian Open final frequently dubbed one of the finest ever played.
The Serbian 24-time major winner breezed through his opening match against Australian alternate Matthew Ebden at the expense of just one game.
Nadal on the other hand was a major doubt for the singles after heavy strapping was seen on his thigh during his dynamic doubles match with Carlos Alcaraz.
The 38-year-old however prevailed after a wobble in the second set to beat Hungary’s Marton Fuscovics in three sets.
What has riled up Novak Djokovic fans ahead of his clash with Rafael Nadal?
Ahead of the clash, Nadal told Forbes that Djokovic will enter into the match as the ‘clear favorite’, saying: “Situations are completely different for him, [than] for me. He’s being very competitive. I was not for the last 2 years.
“I’m going to try my best… then let’s see how far I can go and how many problems I can create for him.”
Apoplectic Djokovic supporters took to X to respond to Nadal’s comments with one angry user saying: “Mind games till the last minute.”
Another frustrated fan suggested: “He’s creating the narrative that if he wins it’s the greatest thing ever and if he loses it was expected.
“But come on, Nadal on Chatrier is always a huuuuuge challenge no matter what.”
While Nadal only made his first ATP tour final in two years at last week’s Swedish Open, both players have had their fair share of injury struggles this year.
Djokovic fans are some of the most serious in the business, frequently going to the high hills to defend their hero with one user branding Nadal’s comments ‘disgusting’.
They said: “Nadal played a tournament just last week on clay. Djokovic last played a tournament weeks ago, on grass and is recovering from an actual knee injury, not some magical hip injury that appeared when the draw was made. Or a foot injury we no longer hear about. Disgusting.”
Who actually is the favorite to win between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal?
While the overall scores have Djokovic in a slender 30-29 lead after their long history on the tour together, Nadal has been far more dominant on the clay winning 20 out of 28 meetings on the red stuff.
The Serb also faces the unique pressure that he’s placed on his own shoulders, as he pines for his first ever Olympic gold in Paris, with this year’s games likely his last chance.
Djokovic faced an astonishing hurdle when he sustained a bad knee injury during the French Open in June and had surgery that same month.
Having battled back remarkably to reach the Wimbledon final, Djokovic is set to return to the very arena which caused his stint on the operating table.
While Djokovic does come in the hot favorite and has had a day longer to rest ahead of today’s match, only a fool would ever completely count out Nadal at Roland Garros.
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