Seeking US Open Glory, Novak Djokovic Blasts Long-Time Rival Rafael Nadal’s Disgruntled Uncle for His Uncanny Take on Carlos Alcaraz-Led Gen-Z of Tennis

Serbian player Novak Djokovic has battled with tennis players of all ages, from those in his generation to players from the younger lot. It’s been more than 20 years, and still, the 36-year-old tennis star’s match continues to be a delight for tennis fans. But even after doing great on the tennis court, a few days ago Rafael Nadal’s uncle dropped a truth bomb, upsetting the world’s second-ranked tennis player.

As the US Open continues, Djokovic, who recently advanced to the semifinals, recently criticized longtime rival Rafael Nadal‘s uncle for his take on the next generation of tennis players. Along with that, he showed his faith in the promise of the upcoming Gen-Z generation heralded by Carlos Alcaraz, making the ultimate statement regarding how things have changed in the sport.

Novak Djokovic opposes Toni Nadal’s point of view 

As a tennis player, the Serb has occasionally played against a team of younger players, who demonstrated to him that they had the ability to, if not win, at least compete with him. But Toni Nadal disagrees with Djokovic’s assessment. The uncle of the 22-time Grand Slam winner recently discussed how, in terms of competition on the court, elite tennis players a few years ago were superior to today’s generation of tennis players.

In an interview with Marca, the 36-year-old tennis star shared his opinion on this thought by listing how the next-generation tennis players, including Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Holger Rune, are doing great on the tennis court. He said, “I don’t agree with that because every generation has a group of great players that lead. Now there’s Sinner, Rune, and Alcaraz. They’ve been dominating most of the tournaments in the last two years. The way Carlos plays, how he defends, how he attacks … It’s very complete.”

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Along with that, he also highlighted the myth of generational difference and that every tennis player has their own athletic ability: “Alcaraz would have won the same thing 10 or 15 years ago. Each generation has its own champions.” Subsequently, the 23-time Grand Slam champion is always up for inspiring the young generation of tennis players, he himself is quite impressed with the way they are representing tennis. Nevertheless, a few months ago, the 23-time Grand Slam champion talked about how the new generation has started taking over the tennis circuit in a positive way.

Novak Djokovic’s unrelenting belief in the next-gen tennis players

A few months ago, Holger Rune defeated the former World Number 1 tennis player to make his place in the semi-finals of the Italian Open. In the post-match press conference after the defeat, he proudly said that the newest generation of tennis players is already here and has started ruling the tennis court.

While the Serb sees himself as fortunate to have had the chance to compete against the younger generation, Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou held a very different opinion. He believed that many players, including Stefanos Tsitsipas, were somewhat unlucky to have played against the Big Three at the very start of their tennis careers – citing a similar opinion to Toni Nadal.

What do you think about Djokovic’s offbeat take on his arch-rival Rafael Nadal’s uncle’s harsh reality check delivering the current situation on the tennis court? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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