The Serbian maestro Novak Djokovic claims the elder generation can still put on a tough fight against the next generation after Rafael Nadal’s interview about the younger players.
A few days back, Rafa mentioned that the young players will soon replace the ‘Big Three’ from the dominance. The trio already lost to the next generation in the past few tournaments. Meanwhile, Djokovic has a different opinion to Nadal, as the Serb defeated the young Greek star, Stefanos Tsitsipas, in the Italian Open.
Djokovic even mentioned chatting with Rafal after the victory against the Greeks and further commented on how the elder generation is still a tough challenge for the youngsters.
Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates winning the match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the Internazionali BNL D’Italia 2021 at Foro Italico on May 15, 2021, in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
“We kind of joked around that the old guys are still not giving up. I saw he said somewhere a few days ago that Roger, him, and I are old, but I disagree with him,” reported Novak Djokovic. “I think we’re showing some different, fresh energy.”
After the victory against Tsitsipas, Nole won the semi-finals against the Italian pro-Lorenzo Sonego. Therefore, the Serb is now at the finals of the 1000 circuit in Italy, where he will face his old rival, the ‘King of Clay’ Nadal.
Both maestros have faced each against about 56 times, where Djokovic won in 29 encounters. Further, it is the sixth time World No.1 will face Rafa at the Italian clay court. Djokovic lost in their last encounter in Italy, thus the Serb will avenge his defeat this time.
For the 6th time in Rome's history, it's going to be #Djokovic vs #Nadal! 😳
2009 🇪🇸Nadal🏆
2011 🇷🇸 Djokovic🏆
2012 🇪🇸 Nadal🏆
2014 🇷🇸 Djokovic🏆
2019 🇪🇸Nadal🏆
2021❓ pic.twitter.com/b0yqKjEe3I— Internazionali Bnl (@InteBNLdItalia) May 15, 2021
Nole commented ahead of the finals about Nadal, “He’s the guy that I have encountered the most in my career. Definitely my biggest rival of all time.”
Novak Djokovic is currently acing the ATP Rankings and has created a record of 320 weeks as the World No.1. However, if the Serb wants to stay at the top, then he needs to upgrade his game, as Nadal and the young generation will be a constant threat for the No.1 title.
