The claim that 18-year-old Novak Djokovic made about Rafael Nadal after playing him for the first time

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Novak Djokovic’s rivalry with Rafael Nadal was one of the greatest of all time, spanning 60 matches across nearly two decades.

Their first meeting came in 2006, when Djokovic, just 18 years old at the time, met defending champion Nadal in the quarterfinals of Roland Garros.

It was the furthest the Serb had ever made it at a Grand Slam, and he put up a fight against the king of clay, but after going down two sets in the match, he was forced to retire due to injury.

Following the defeat, Djokovic faced the media and made a bold claim about the man who would go on to win the tournament again that year.

Novak Djokovic’s bold claim about Rafael Nadal after losing to him

After retiring from the contest, Djokovic said in his press conference: “I don’t like these situations, and that’s why I’m really unhappy that I finished this way, you know, because I think that I was playing pretty well today.

“I think I was in control because I think everything was depending on me. Even with a sore back, I think I played [an] equal match with him.

“I realised today that I don’t need to play anything special, you know? I don’t need to play anything special.

“Everybody thinks, you know, Nadal, for sure, he’s the best on this surface, but he’s not unbeatable. That’s for sure.

“I realised that because I played today and I felt pretty good on the court, I broke him back like two times in the second set.

“I couldn’t serve 100% so I think if I would serve, you know, my service is pretty good. I would use this serve and use the opportunities, and I think I will win the second set, you know.

“I think I could win today, you know, I have to say that even though he is the best and everybody thinks that he is unbeatable, I have to say he is not unbeatable, he is beatable.”

Novak Djokovic’s victories over Rafael Nadal on clay

Djokovic went on to lose to Nadal eight more times in a row on clay, before finally clinching a victory over the Spaniard on the surface in the final of the Madrid Open in 2011, and followed it up with another win in the Italian Open final that year.

After that, he beat him once on the dirt in both 2013 and 2014, and twice in 2015, one of which came at Roland Garros.

He overcame Nadal again at the French Open in 2021, when Djokovic won their semifinal en route to the title.

The last meeting between the two on clay came at the Paris Olympics in 2024, which was also their final professional clash.