Djokovic: Rafa Is 'The Guy To Beat'
Djokovic: Rafa Is ‘The Guy To Beat’
Novak Djokovic knows what almost everyone wants to see this week at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. Sure, the fans will be pleased to watch the sixth-seeded Serbian face Martin Klizan of Slovakia in the second round on Wednesday. The contest will be only Djokovic’s second match ever in Barcelona, after his one-and-done debut in 2006 when he was 18.
But what will really make fans smile wide? A 51st FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup between Djokovic and 10-time Barcelona champion Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 26-24, and a quarter-final meeting in Spain would be their earliest matchup at a tournament since the 2016 Rome quarter-finals, when Djokovic advanced in straight sets. Nadal, however, won their most recent meeting during the 2017 Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals 6-2, 6-4.
Watch: Djokovic Shares Why He Decided To Play Barcelona
To make the fans’ dream matchup come true, Djokovic needs to beat Klizan and Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, and Nadal needs to overcome Ecuador Open champion Roberto Carballes Baena, and Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters finalist Kei Nishikori.
“First of all the tournament is very lucky here because it has a lot of great players. Barcelona, in general, this tournament has always had top players,” Djokovic said.
“Obviously I have to be a little bit more modest with my expectations for the tournament. I have to focus only on winning the next match, even though potentially I understand that everybody would like to see Nadal-Djokovic in the quarter-finals.”
For Djokovic, just playing without pain is almost a victory at this stage. The 30-year-old Serbian said that last week’s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters was the first event he’s played in almost a year in which he hasn’t competed with pain or thought about his right elbow during matches.
Read More: Nishikori: I Always Have A Chance Against Rafa
Last year, Djokovic ended his season after Wimbledon because of persistent pain in his right elbow. He had been bothered by it for more than two years. Earlier this year, in January, after playing at the Australian Open, Djokovic also underwent surgery on the elbow.
“The last 15 months have been quite tough, to understand the situation, how to deal with it. And I also did make some mistakes, where I came back too early because I wanted to play so much, and then I was not ready and then I made more problems with the elbow. It’s all a learning process, it’s all a school of life. I’m just trying to be conscious of all of this,” said Djokovic, who’s played only nine matches since July 2017.
“I haven’t played too many matches and I’m really looking forward to playing without thinking about my elbow or other things right now.”
The former No. 1 in the ATP Rankings has mastered all three surfaces but he might best be known for his hard-court success. Twenty-two of Djokovic’s 30 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles have come on hard. Djokovic, however, said he also feels very comfortable on clay, having grown up playing on the surface in Belgrade.
“I think my game has improved on this surface. Winning [Roland Garros] 2016 was obviously the highlight of my clay-court career, but I won also Rome, Madrid, big tournaments, and Monte-Carlo, and plenty of other good results. But obviously there’s a guy named Rafael Nadal who is always on the way to winning more ‘Big Titles’ and he still keeps on dominating this surface, and he’s definitely always the guy to beat,” Djokovic said.
“But as I said, I’m really pleased that I’m able to be healthy, to train, to put a lot of hours on the court and slowly build my game. Because I know that I’m not still at my best and for that I need time. How long? I don’t know but I feel like in Monte-Carlo already, I was putting some good matches together.”
His third-round run in the Principality included a dominating victory against countryman Dusan Lajovic and a straight-sets win against Borna Coric, who had reached the semi-finals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the quarter-finals at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Djokovic also pushed Dominic Thiem, the only man to beat Nadal on clay last year, to three sets before falling 6-7(2), 6-2, 6-3.
“The long-term goal is obviously trying to win the biggest tournaments in this sport and fight for the peak of what our sport is and that is to be No. 1. I’ve been in that position so many times and for a long time in my career, especially throughout the last five, six years,” Djokovic said. “I believe I can get there [again].”