Novak Djokovic Says He is Saddened By Rafael Nadal Absence

The Serbian tennis legend, Novak Djokovic has once again raised the bars on the Parisien hardcourt as he lifted up his fifth title at the Paris Masters. However, Djokovic was dismayed after hearing about Rafael Nadal’s withdrawal from the Rolex Paris Masters 2019.

“I am saddened that Rafa is injured. I have also had significant injuries in my career,” Novak Djokovic said. Nadal was supposed to face Denis Shapovalov in the semi-finals of Rolex Paris Masters 2019, but with Rafa abandoning the play the Canadian earned a free ticket to his first-ever finals of ATP Masters 1000.

Earlier this year, Nadal had set-up a semifinal showdown in Indian Wells, California against Roger Federer, but moments before the match he withdrew due to knee pain. From 2009, Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from 25 hardcourt events out of the 66 events he played.

“He had many of them. I hope he’ll be in London. Anyways, I’m in a better position today than I was at the beginning of the tournament but I don’t calculate much. If I can achieve this goal, it will be fantastic.”

World Number one, Djokovic has also dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career. Recently he retired from the fourth round match at US Open 2019 due to a shoulder injury and in the year 2017 he was plagued with an elbow injury that pestered him throughout the year. For more than two years, Novak Djokovic dealt with a Slam-less drought.

On Monday, Rafael Nadal will be dethroning Novak Djokovic on the top spot of the ATP Rankings. On November 5, 2018, Djokovic regained his World Number one ranking, but exactly after a year, the Serbian legend departs from the niche.

In Paris, Djokovic collected his 34th Masters 1000 title and the Serb is one Masters title away from the Spaniard, Nadal who hold a record of 35 Masters titles. The Swiss, Roger Federer holds the third-highest record of 28 ATP Masters 1000 titles.