Novak Djokovic weighs in on Rafael Nadal’s attitude: “It pissed me off”

By Elsa Girard-Basset | Web journalist

Sacred monsters of the ATP circuit for almost 20 years, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal gave rise to one of the most iconic rivalries in sport. But if there is mutual respect between them, the two artists in the short are not great friends either – far from it. Moreover, “Nole” returned to a behavior of the Spaniard which particularly displeased him.

Living legends. There is no other word to define Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, the two holders of the most Grand Slam titles in the history of tennis. Rivals before the eternal, so close in terms of level, the two men have faced each other 59 times, for an almost balanced record (30 victories for Djokovic, 29 for Nadal).

And while the twilight of their respective careers approaches, especially for the Taurus of Manacor, certain tensions from the past have given way to more esteem, respect and even affection between them. At the height of their rivalry, however, tensions were sometimes high, and particularly at Roland-Garros, where the locker rooms are notoriously cramped…

Novak Djokovic reveals Rafael Nadal’s habit that drove him crazy

Guest of “CBS 60 Minutes”, the current world number 1 explained:

I’m playing against Nadal at Roland Garros, and his locker is next to mine. So we are very close. And we try to give each other space. But the locker room isn’t very big either. And Nadal has this habit of jumping around and running before entering the court.

In the locker room, he sprints next to you. I could even hear the music he was listening to in his headphones. So that pissed me off. At the beginning of my career, I didn’t realize that this was all part of the storyline. So that intimidated me! But it also motivated me to do things myself, to motivate myself and show that I was ready for the fight.

To illustrate Novak Djokovic’s story, we offer you the video below, which shows Rafael Nadal carrying out his funny routine. The same one that made the Serb clench his fist:

Novak Djokovic says he was intimidated by Rafa Nadal’s pre-match locker room ritual at Roland Garros:

“I’m playing Nadal in Roland Garros & I have his locker next to my locker. So we’re so close. We’re trying to give each other space, but that locker room is also not that big.… pic.twitter.com/9A0NpeX75e

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) December 11, 2023

Furious at Rafael Nadal’s invasive and noisy warm-up in the locker room, Novak Djokovic has since put water in his wine. And if he still does not define himself as friends with his greatest rival, he does not deny that great respect exists between them. And that’s the most important thing.