Novak Djokovic shared an incredible rivalry with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at the echelon of tennis, but he’s certain he knows who was his toughest rival.
Djokovic has followed in Federer’s footsteps since the star’s retirement, but there was no love lost when they were on the court.
The Serbian is the last of the three legends to still be active on the ATP Tour, although Djokovic has thought about quitting tennis several times.
Nevertheless, the last man standing out of the ‘big three’ revealed who he thinks his biggest rival is between Nadal and Federer.
Novak Djokovic says Rafael Nadal was his greatest rival
Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal were widely considered the ‘big three’ of tennis for their domination across the sport.
The three men met in countless Grand Slam finals, with the three men sharing 66 major trophies between them.
Asked who his greatest rival was in tennis, Djokovic said: “You probably know the names Federer and Nadal,” in an interview with TNT Sports.
“I would say Nadal would be the one that probably stands out [as] my biggest opponent and biggest rival,” the Serbian confirmed.
Nadal and Djokovic played each other ten times more than the Serbian played Federer, but he edges both men in the head to head.
Djokovic won 31 out of 60 matches against the King of Clay, while the Serbian won 27 out of 50 collisions with Federer.
Rafael Nadal had Novak Djokovic’s number in Grand Slam finals
It’s understandable why Djokovic would call Nadal a bigger rival than Federer despite their close run head-to-head records.
Federer only managed to beat Djokovic in one Grand Slam final in five matches on the grandest stage together.
Nadal, however, has four wins out of eight against the Serbian and is part of the reason Djokovic wasn’t more dominant on the ATP Tour.
Federer’s only Grand Slam victory over Djokovic came at the 2007 US Open.