The world isn’t alien with Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal‘s rivalry. After all, the duo has headlined the tennis world with remarkable face-offs, considered some of the greatest in the sport’s history. While the Serb has been thriving off his recent accomplishments, it doesn’t take away from the fact that Rafa has caused permanent damage to his résumé. Subsequently, Nole’s arch-nemesis has forced him to acknowledge the Spaniard’s prevailing supremacy on a particular surface.

In an interview with RTS Sport, Djokovic claimed that the former World No. 1 is the sole reason behind his misfortune at Roland Garros. The 24-time Grand Slam champion has only won three French Open titles, whereas Nadal has a staggering 14 crowns at the clay-court Slam, a record. This, in turn, also earned him the title ‘King of Clay.’ Having faced off 60 times on the ATP Tour, the legendary duo has demonstrated their prowess on hard courts (Djokovic leading Nadal 20-7) and clay courts (Nadal leading Djokovic 20-9), respectively.

To much surprise, although the Serbian edges out the 38-year-old with a 15-13 lead in Grand Slam final stages, he has always endured a thumping defeat to Nadal at Roland Garros. Moreover, Rafa leads the Serbian 8-2 at the French Open. For those unaware, the pair first met in the quarterfinals of the 2006 edition of the hard-court Major, where Nole suffered a three-set exit, allowing Nadal to advance.

He said, “Nadal was unbeatable there for a long time, he lost only a few times at the Phillipe Chatrier. Every time you step on that court with him, he is the favorite. Even at the Olympics, he had injury problems, I was in better shape, but still, you know it is the highest mountain to climb. He is the greatest, maybe the only reason why I don’t have more Roland Garros titles. Every win against him there is worth twice as much.”

While the Spaniard proved to be Nole’s kryptonite at his favored hunting ground, the latter recently exacted revenge on Rafa at the Paris Olympics — a form of reparation for all his clay-court losses to the 22-time Major champion. On his way to the quadrennial event’s summit clash, the Serbian downed the 38-year-old at Court Philippe Chatrier. As a result, Nole’s latest feat prompted him to express his elation after enduring the ‘hardest defeats of his career’ at the multi-sport event, including the one against Nadal.

Novak Djokovic on settling his long-drawn Olympic dream – “Greatest emotion of my career”

Serbian tennis superstar Novak Djokovic had long been denied the Olympic gold, a void in his career. While his rivals, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, both went on to furnish their respective nations with the laurel, Nole hadn’t been so lucky. However, he finally reversed his fortune this season. Having lost to Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics semifinals, the World No. 4 addressed what it meant to win a gold medal for Serbia.

“I lost to Nadal in the semifinal in Beijing, then two more semifinals and the battles for third place. These were among the hardest defeats of my career. All this makes it special. The greatest emotion of my career, it’s hard to describe in words,” Djokovic told RTS.

Fresh off his Olympic triumph, Djokovic is now onto the next task. After suffering a shock third-round exit at the US Open, where Alexei Popyrin thwarted his bid for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, the Serb has returned to represent his nation at the Davis Cup once again.