‘Hats Down for What He Has Achieved’ – Novak Djokovic Heaps Praise on Great Rafael Nadal Ahead of 2022 Wimbledon Championships

Novak Djokovic feels that coming back from surgery, Rafael Nadal has impressed the world with his performance. The two have faced each other once since the start of the year so far, in the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open. Following the clash on the Parisian clay, the two are set for the 2022 Wimbledon Championship, where the two look to write another chapter in their historic rivalry.

With the grass-court tournament set to begin tomorrow, i.e. 27th of June, Novak Djokovic yesterday attended the pre-tournament press conference. During the conference, the top-seeded player in the draw praised the second-seeded player and arch-rival Rafael Nadal for his incredible season so far.

Novak Djokovic impressed by the performance of Rafael Nadal

Struggling with his foot, Rafael Nadal underwent surgery last year. Coming back on the court after four months, the Spaniard won back-to-back titles, including the Australian Open. Struggling with his foot again, the World No. 4 was forced to miss most of the lead up tournaments to the French Open. However, the ‘King of Clay’ showed no signs of slowing down as he won his 14th French Open title.

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Impressed by his performance, Novak Djokovic, who currently trails Nadal by 2 in the Grand Slam titles tally, praised the Spaniard. “He had a surgery second part of last year. Coming back after that and winning Grand Slam right away is something that is really impressive,” he said.

Praising Nadal for his career, the Serbian said, “Just hats down for what he has achieved and what he is doing on the court. Great fighting spirit, an amazing champion.”

Djokovic could face Nadal in the final

While the two are two of the biggest arch rivals on court, that didn’t stop Djokovic from respecting his Spanish counterpart. “Even though I’m one of his biggest rivals and we had incredible matches during our career. I have nothing but respect for him, for what he has achieved,” he said.

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Djokovic is set to kick off his Wimbledon campaign with a first-round clash against Korean player Soonwoo Kwon. Likewise, Nadal will kick of his campaign with a first-round clash against Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo. If things go well, the top two seeds will face each other in the final.