Nadal on Djokovic: "It was never a clear and defined strategy that had to be implemented against him"

Adrien Guyot

le 11/03/2025 à 17h37

2 min to read

Djokovic Nadal Roddick

Now retired for several months, Rafael Nadal opened up to Andy Roddick on his podcast. The Spanish legend, who won 22 Grand Slam titles including 14 at Roland-Garros, broke records in his career alongside his two greatest rivals on the court, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

After discussing his rivalry with the Swiss, Nadal reflected on his rivalry with the Serb, with whom the former world number 1 shared the court 60 times (31-29 in head-to-head matches in favor of Djokovic).

"Against Novak, it was a bit like... okay, we could have a strategy, but I knew I had to play very well to win. But I had to play very well all the time. We didn’t have the same playing style, of course.

But it was never a clear and defined strategy that had to be implemented against him. Against Roger, I knew I could create damage by playing to his backhand. Against Novak, I didn’t have that feeling.

What I felt was that I had to play very well for a long time and know that I had to adjust things as I went along. I couldn’t play too often to his backhand.

Especially high balls, because he takes the ball faster and puts you in a very difficult position. I started using the slice more often against him. Sometimes, it worked well for me. Against Novak, it was sometimes good to play down the middle. But don’t give him too many angles.

With Novak, even when you are able to push him a bit off the court, if you don’t create much damage, he was able to counter and push you back in return. In terms of ball control, I think he is the best player I have ever played and the best I have ever seen," Nadal stated.