World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who attended the Ballon d’Or ceremony in Paris, spoke about his rivalry with Rafael Nadal, the player who made history at Roland Garros.

Novak Djokovic on Rafael Nadal: “I can’t say that we are friends, but we respect each other”

“I can’t say that we are friends, but we respect each other. Personally, I hope that after our careers are over, we can go for a drink on the beach and talk about life, with less stress and expectations” – said the Serbian

Djokovic and Nadal have met each other 59 times in the professional arena since 2006. Nole has a slight advantage (30 wins to 29).

He admitted that his rivalry with the Pyrenees champion had a big impact on his career and admitted that he found it very difficult to face Nadal on his favorite surface, clay.

“Beating Rafa at Roland Garros is the biggest challenge in tennis, it’s his home. My record against him is not very good there (2 wins and 8 losses), but I played a lot of great and historic matches. He is a very special player for me, for my entire career and for my development as a player,” Djokovic emphasized.

At the age of 36, Novak Djokovic holds the record for most Grand Slam trophies (24), 10 of which were won at the Australian Open.

He won a total of 96 singles titles and holds the record for most ATP Masters 1000 wins (39). The Serbian also shares the record for most success on the Champions Tour with Switzerland’s Roger Federer, with six trophies each.

Djokovic has spent the most weeks at the top of the world rankings (397) and is the tennis player who has held the top spot in the ATP ranking by the end of the year (7).