Novak Djokovic is happy to see Rafael Nadal back to playing again as he hopes to face him at least once more before they both retire.
Djokovic and Nadal have played a handful of times so far, and the next match will be the 60th they will ever play on the ATP Tour. That’s an incredible number, and it would be also a nice round number to finish their rivalry, in which the Serbian leads 30-29 at the moment.
There are still a few more events in the future where it could happen after they both lost in Rome, but it was great to have them both back in the same draw again. As the Serb told Sky Sports, it’s been a while since it happened, and that’s why there was a special buzz in Rome.
“It’s mostly business as usual. We haven’t seen each other in person here. We have obviously different training schedules and everything else. There is that element of something special in the air because we haven’t played the same tournament in quite a while.”