Rafael Nadal, the former world No. 1, praised one of his biggest opponents, Novak Djokovic, as a “perfect and flawless tennis player.”
Nadal and Djokovic have had several high-profile confrontations throughout their careers, and their rivalry is one of the most storied in tennis.
In their most recent match, world No. 1 Djokovic stunned Nadal in the semifinals of the French Open.
“Djokovic is a perfect and flawless player. He can play on every surface.
“He is amazingly consistent as well this year, even when he seems to be in bad shape, his eagerness for win makes up for it,” Nadal told Number Web, as per Tennis World USA.
Nadal is adamant about making a successful comeback
Rafael Nadal’s 2021 season was marred by injuries, and he chose to call it a season in August due to a persistent foot problem.
“After coming back from Toronto, I took a couple of days to think about it.
I needed to talk with my family, with my team and with my doctors especially to understand what is going on. But the foot is not the proper way today,” Nadal said.
“During the past year I was not practising and preparing myself the way that I need to to be competitive at the standards that I want to be, so we had to take that decision.
“But I am confident that I will recover 100 per cent and I will be able to fight again for the most important things.
“The injury is nothing new. It is the same injury that I have had since 2005. In that moment, the doctors were very negative about my future career, but I was able to have a career that I never dreamed about.
“So I am confident that I will recover again the foot and if the foot is better, I am confident that my tennis and my mentality will be there again soon.”
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