The return of Rafael Nadal is a highly anticipated event for the tennis world. A legend of his stature doesn’t come around often, and thus there seems to be a lot of buzz surrounding his comeback.
Earlier, Novak Djokovic shared his thoughts during a press conference at the ATP Finals when he heard that Rafael Nadal would be back in action in 2024. If these two tennis legends, Djokovic with 24 Grand Slams and Nadal with 22, face off again, Djokovic doesn’t think it’s going to be an easy match.
“I think it would be nice for the sport to have at least one more match between Nadal and me. That’s the biggest rivalry in terms of the number of matches played that this sport ever had. Hopefully that can happen.”
Further, the Serbian also highlighted that Nadal’s reappearance wouldn’t just be for competing at a mediocre level, but for winning a title or slam. He also shared his thoughts on the news media making headlines of a Nadal retirement season.
He said that both he and Nadal have been counted as written off multiple times in their careers, but they have rebounded from these criticisms. Admiring his rival’s contribution to the sport, Novak commented that he’s a legend and should be treated like one.
“I always expect him (Nadal) to play at his best, to be honest,” said Djokovic. “Many times, they’ve signed him out, they’ve done that with me as well. But we’ve proved them wrong. He’s not a kind of a player that will come back to the tour just to play – let’s say – on a medium level, play a few matches. He wants to win titles, he wants to be the best, that’s why he is who he is: a legend of our sport. I’m sure that his training and preparation is done with an intention to win a Grand Slam.”
“I will love to see Rafael Nadal back in 2024 to give Novak Djokovic some heat”, Ivan Ljubicic comments on Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic in 2024
Ivan Ljubicic, former coach of Roger Federer, shared his thoughts on Rafael Nadal‘s highly anticipated comeback in 2024. He expressed a desire to see the Spanish player bring some ‘heat’ to Novak Djokovic.
Ljubicic is thrilled about Nadal’s comeback to professional tennis, anticipating strong competition for Djokovic in the upcoming season. The veteran coach shared his excitement on the recent episode of the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast.
“I think the most successful one is definitely Novak, at least on the male side. He keeps winning, he is not stopping and I am really curious and I will love to see Rafa back in 2024 to give him some heat.”
The legendary Spaniard will make his comeback in Brisbane International, an ATP 250 event starting from 31st December 2024. The event serves as a precursor to the Australian Open later in January.
