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World No. 1 praises Spaniard's performance and achievements at Roland Garros

Novak Djokovic entered the Roland Garros final against Rafael Nadal with a wealth of experience and form, having beaten the Spaniard in 29 of their previous 55 ATP Head2Head matches. But despite all his past success against the five-time year-end World No. 1 and his 37-1 record this year heading into the final, he could not match Nadal’s level on Court Phillipe-Chatrier.

“He's phenomenal,” said Djokovic. “He played a perfect match, especially in the first two sets. The third set I managed to come back. I found my groove on the court. Then [there were a] couple of close games. had my chances, didn't use them. He closed out the match. That's it. He was the far better player on the court today and absolutely deserved to win.”

Nadal charged through the opening two sets with the loss of just two games and held off a late comeback attempt from his rival to enter the history books. With his 13th Roland Garros crown, Nadal equalled Roger Federer’s record collection of 20 Grand Slam titles and became the first man to win 100 matches at Roland Garros.

“He keeps going,” said Djokovic. “[There is] no holding him back it seems. It's amazing. I admire all his achievements, especially the one here. It's stunning, [the] results and records that he's got on this court. He lost two times in his entire career. Winning 13 times. There's not much you can say. All the superlatives you can use, he deserves them."

<a href='/en/players/novak-djokovic/d643/overview'>Novak Djokovic</a> was attempting to become the first man in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slam titles on multiple occasions.
The World No. 1 ended up on the receiving end of a 6-0 set for the first time since the his last clay meeting against Nadal in the 2019 Internazionali BNL d’Italia final. Nadal fired 21 winners and just six unforced errors through the first two sets. Despite dropping serve in the third set, Nadal regained his composure to claim the Coupe des Mousquetaires without dropping a set for the fourth time.

“He was not missing at all and getting every ball back, just playing tactically great,” said Djokovic. “I felt well throughout the entire tournament. I thought I was in a great form. Certainly, I could have played better, especially in the first two sets. But he did surprise me with the way he was playing, the quality of tennis he was producing, the level."

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Despite a one-sided final loss and a missed opportunity to become the first man in the Open Era to win each of the four Grand Slam trophies on multiple occasions, Djokovic expressed great pride in all that he has achieved and shared his gratitude for the opportunities he has to keep competing on historic occasions.

“I try to remind myself of how blessed I am really to be in this position. Especially in the big moments, in the big tournaments like this, when the history is written,” said Djokovic. “I try to reflect on the early days of my career, where I grew up, how I grew up.

“I'm just very blessed and grateful to have the life that I have right now, without a doubt. I have to constantly repeat that to myself, that nothing should be taken for granted. I keep on working, keep on enjoying this sport, I truly do.”

Djokovic is also aware that defeats can provide great motivation for future success. The last time the Serbian fell to Nadal in a Roland Garros final was in 2014. He responded by claiming straight-sets victories in his next seven matches against the 6’1” left-hander.

“Of course, defeats like this are never really enjoyable, but in the greatest of defeats you learn the greatest lessons as a tennis player, but as a person as well,” said Djokovic. “I’m trying really to nurture that kind of a mindset."

<a href='/en/players/rafael-nadal/n409/overview'>Rafael Nadal</a> owns a 5-4 record against <a href='/en/players/novak-djokovic/d643/overview'>Novak Djokovic</a> in Grand Slam finals.
With the tournament being played across September and October this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nadal told reporters in his pre-tournament press conference that the conditions in Paris were the ‘most difficult’ he had ever faced at Roland Garros.

Djokovic felt those cold, damp conditions would play to his advantage in the final, with Nadal typically benefitting from the spring heat in Paris which adds extra kick to his heavily-spun groundstrokes. But Nadal adapted superbly throughout his fortnight in the French capital to win his 60th clay-court trophy.

“I was also thinking that these conditions are more favourable to me,” said Djokovic. “I was feeling great throughout the tournament, playing great tennis, winning in Rome, being very confident about my game. But Rafa has proven everybody wrong. That's why he's a great champion. He just played a fantastic match today. That's all.”

Regardless of the conditions, the 17-time Grand Slam champion offered only reason for his final defeat: his opponent.

“I was overplayed. I was beaten by a guy who was just perfect today. Especially the first two sets… That's all there is to it,” said Djokovic. “I will absolutely not find any other justification for this loss. He was just better.”

Serbian won the title on his last Vienna appearance in 2007
Novak Djokovic is going to have his work cut out for him if he is to claim his fifth tour-level title of the season at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna. There are eight unseeded players in the draw who have made a Grand Slam final or an ATP Masters 1000 final, and Djokovic is well aware of how difficult that will make lifting the trophy.

“You have six out of the Top 10 players playing here at an ATP 500 event,” Djokovic said. “I think this must be if not the hardest or toughest men’s draw of all-time at a 500-category event, then definitely one of the hardest ones that we have ever seen, that I was ever part of. So the quality of matches from the first round will be very, very high.”

This is Djokovic’s first appearance in Vienna since 2007, when he captured the title with the loss of only one set. The Serbian holds a 6-1 record at the tournament.

<a href='/en/players/novak-djokovic/d643/overview'>Novak Djokovic</a>
Novak Djokovic celebrates with his 2007 Vienna trophy. Photo Credit: AFP/Getty Images.
“It’s great to be here. I have some amazing memories from this city. I haven’t been to Vienna and I haven’t participated in the tournament here for 13 years. The last time I was here I won the tournament and I had great support,” Djokovic said. “This is definitely one of the best tournaments in this category.”

The Serbian has still watched the event from afar over the years. He has consistently been impressed by the fan support and the tennis culture that has been created by the likes of former World No. 1 Thomas Muster and recent US Open champion Dominic Thiem.

“Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and a city that is part of a country that nurtures sports and specifically tennis traditionally,” Djokovic said. “The big credit for that goes to Thomas Muster of course, who was No. 1 in the world, and Dominic Thiem, a Grand Slam champion and other successful Austrian players contributed I think to the popularity of the sport. It’s one of the big reasons why you see every year a packed house that is sold out for Dominic’s matches especially, but also for other matches.”

Thiem is the second seed this week, so Djokovic will not meet him before the championship match. The last time they clashed, in this year’s Australian Open final, Djokovic triumphed in a five-setter to lift the trophy in Melbourne.


“We had a practise this morning and we were so intense that I was thinking we were already playing the final,” Djokovic said. “I respect Dominic so much and what he has done for tennis is tremendous, especially this year obviously winning his first Grand Slam. He deserves it more than anybody else. He’s a hard worker, a great guy with a great team. Hopefully we can have that chance to play.

“Obviously that’s probably something that the people would want to see here… [but] it’s a long way [away]. Even though that’s something that we are all anticipating, we both want that, to be in the final of course. But the field is very strong, so we have to take one day at a time.”

Djokovic was surprised when he saw the draw, which revealed he will play countryman Filip Krajinovic in the first round. They are tied 1-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, with Djokovic beating Krajinovic in straight sets last month at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

“I practised with Filip for a few days in Belgrade before coming here and we joked around that we might draw each other and that’s what happened,” Djokovic said. “The odds of this happening are very slim, [having] the only two Serbian guys in the draw next to Lajovic play first round. But it is what it is. We are great friends, I’ve known Filip for a long time. He’s a very talented guy, hard court is his preferred surface. He can play very quick tennis. We have similar games actually because we kind of grew up together.

“I’m hoping I can kickstart the tournament in the best possible way. Obviously the first match, the opening match is the critical one where you have to try to start off from the blocks in the best possible fashion.”