Rafael Nadal, the Spanish tennis ace alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, formed the big three of this generation. All three players harbor tremendous skills. Therefore, every match in which they locked horns became one of the best matches in the sport. Even though their matches still are a nail-biter, their dynamics have changed over time.

For example, both Djokovic and Nadal respect and appreciate each other’s work now. But things were quite different when they started dominating the world and had nothing but passion to excel in their field.

A young Rafael Nadal speaking about Novak Djokovic

Currently, many will maintain that there will be a clear favorite according to different surfaces, like hard courts favor the Serb and the clay courts are best suited to the Spaniard. However, the clashes between them used to be unpredictable back in the early 2000s, and so was their behavior.

One such incident is the quarterfinal match of the 2006 French Open. Where after winning the match, Nadal took a dig at Djokovic for claiming that the match was under his control till his back problems started. He said, “Oh yes. I don’t know if says that it’s okay. I don’t need to answer that.”

The 22-time Grand Slam champion was having a two set lead in the match. Unfortunately, Djokovic suffered a back injury during the match and was eventually forced to retire.

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Further, their most recent clash was also in the red dirt of Paris. They locked horns in the quarterfinals of 2022 French Open where, after a tough battle, Nadal took down the defending champion in four sets and by a scoreline of 6-2 4-6 6-2 6-7(4).

Nadal’s performance this year

Nadal made a fabulous comeback in Australia from his pestering injury. He claimed his 21st Grand Slam title in Melbourne and broke the three-way tie of 20 Grand Slam victories between the ‘Big Three’.

Then he reigned supreme in the hard courts of the Mexican Open and extended his match win streak to 15. Following that, the World No.4 traveled to America to test his skills in the summer doubles. There he secured a seat in the finals of Indian Wells, but in the way incurred a rib injury which costed him the trophy and broke his winning streak at 21 matches.

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Following that, he entered the clay court season, and after a slow start, Nadal secured his 22nd Grand Slam title. The Spanish legend clinched his 14th French Open title by outclassing the Norwegian young blood Casper Ruud in straight sets.