Novak Djokovic has well and truly established his superiority having claimed his 24th Grand Slam title at the US Open this year. The Serb currently holds the record for the most number of Grand Slam wins in the Open Era to his name. Nadal follows the US Open 2023 champion on the list with 22 majors under his belt. Addressing Djokovic’s remarkable rise in the past few years, Nadal said that finishing with an all-time Grand Slam record is a bigger achievement than becoming the world number one.
In the latest interview with Movistar+, Nadal was asked about his take on Djokovic’s performance in all-time Grand Slam title race. The Spaniard said, “I am not frustrated for a simple reason, within my possibilities, I have done everything to make things as good as possible.” Nadal also made sure to pay his respect for Djokovic, who has bagged three of the four major titles so far this year.
Rafael Nadal believes that the Serbian great is more motivated than him to wrap up his career as an all-time great of the game. “Yes, you can live frustrated with 22 Grand Slams, for example, Novak lives it in a more intense way. For him, it would have been a greater frustration not to achieve it. Perhaps that is why he achieved it,” Nadal said.
Nadal has been out of competitive tennis since January this year due to a left hip flexor injury that he sustained at the Australian Open. He was knocked out of the second round of the competition by American opponent Mackenzie McDonald, recording the earliest Grand Slam exit in seven years. Due to injury issues, Nadal had pulled himself out of the French Open, a competition in which he has won the title on 14 occasions. The 37-year-old also failed to feature in the Wimbledon as well as in the US Open this year.
After undergoing surgery on his injured Psoas recently, Nadal now hopes to make a comeback to the court. However, he still holds on to the plan of announcing retirement next year. Before bidding adieu to tennis, Nadal intends to add a few more titles to his decorated cabinet.
“My dream is to play again, to be competitive again, not to win at Roland-Garros or in Australia. I said that possibly 2024 was my last year, I maintain that, but I can not confirm it 100 percent because I do not know. My dream is to play again, to be competitive again, not to win at Roland-Garros or in Australia,” Nadal expressed.
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