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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 10: Rafael Nadal of Spain (L) and Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a forehand react after watching a video replay while on the sidelines during the Tie Break Tens ahead of the 2018 Australian Open at Margaret Court Arena on January 10, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 10: Rafael Nadal of Spain (L) and Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a forehand react after watching a video replay while on the sidelines during the Tie Break Tens ahead of the 2018 Australian Open at Margaret Court Arena on January 10, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal has shared rivalries with many top athletes of the game. Besides Roger Federer, the Spaniard has played many memorable matches against Serbian ace Novak Djokovic. With time gone by, Djokovic now has a better head-to-head record against Rafa and Roger.
Recently, Rafael Nadal spoke on various issues, but the one that caught the ear was him mentioning Novak’s obsession with breaking records. Of late, the Serbian athlete has been very vocal about records in tennis, especially after winning his 18th Grand Slam title and surpassing Federer for holding the top spot in rankings for the most number of weeks.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia shakes hands with Rafael Nadal of Spain after winning the match point during their final singles match daring day 10 of the ATP Cup at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images)
The Spaniard spoke on the matter and stated, “I never get – I mean, Novak is more obsessed about this, more focused. Not in a negative way. ‘No, he’s more focused on just these things and it means a lot to him all of this stuff. Like he’s always saying and talking about these records and well done for him… but it’s not my approach to my tennis career.”
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Winning a Major is not the sole purpose Rafael Nadal is yet playing
On the other hand, Rafa is not bothered much about these records, and his fondness for the sport exceeds all other issues. Although, he does maintain that winning a Grand Slam title is something he still chases, it isn’t the sole reason for him playing the game after being involved in it for over two decades.
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Rafael Nadal of Spain cross paths during change of ends during the Men’s Singles Final match during day 14 of the 2019 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 27, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
The defending French Open champion further added, “I have a healthy ambition. Of course, I am ambitious, if not I would never be in the position I am today but I have probably a different kind of ambition than him, for example. I just keep going, keep doing what I’m doing, and just try to put myself in a position to keep enjoying the tour and, of course, try to achieve as much as possible.”
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Speaking on the current season, Rafa and Novak featured at the Monte Carlo Masters last week. It was their first appearance at a tennis tournament since the Australian Open. Nadal will be playing the ATP Barcelona Open this week, whereas, Djokovic will feature at the ATP Serbia Open in Belgrade.
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