Nadal’s greatest rival on clay and the only man to beat him twice in Paris, world No.1 Novak Djokovic, deemed facing the Spaniard on Court Philippe-Chatrier as the “paramount challenge” in tennis.
Djokovic, who owns a 30-29 edge in their head-to-head, but 2-8 at Roland-Garros, described him as his most important rival.
“It’s probably one of the biggest challenges that you can have in the tennis tour, playing Rafa at Roland Garros… You have sometimes when he’s really in the zone and in the groove, not making many errors. You feel like he’s impenetrable. He’s like a wall,” Djokovic said.
“He’s an incredible athlete. The tenacity and intensity he brings on the court, particularly [at Roland-Garros], is something that was very rarely seen I think in the history of this sport.”