Novak Djokovic praises ‘coach’ Ronaldo as Nadal tips new Slam winner

Novak Djokovic has spoken about his recent collaboration with Cristiano Ronaldo, while Rafael Nadal thinks 2020 will produce a new Grand Slam winner.

Novak Djokovic has discussed how impressed he was with his “coach” Cristiano Ronaldo at the two sports stars’ recent training session, while Rafael Nadal believes there will be a new Grand Slam winner in 2020.

Last week, soccer star Ronaldo and Serbian world number two Djokovic posted social media footage of them training together in Dubai during the offseason.

In one clip, they were practising one of Ronaldo’s famous leaps he often uses to score headers, with one of his recent jumps seeing his ability compared to that an NBA player.

As they posted the clip, Djokovic wrote on Instagram joking that the Portugal international was his coach and thanked him for the training session.

He wrote: “I hope I did well in my first lesson, coach. It will definitely be very helpful for my #Djokosmash technique! It was a great pleasure to train with you Cristiano. Keep raising the bar and inspiring the world.”

And as he prepared to represent Serbia at the ATP Cup, Novak Djokovic was asked more about the session shared by the two men at the top of their respective sports.

“It was so impressive to see his work ethic and how professional he is,” Djokovic said of Cristiano Ronaldo.

“I have lots of respect for everything he has done in his career.”

Ronaldo’s post about last week’s exchange had seen him write: “Teaching @djokernole how to jump!! Was a pleasure to see you and train with you my friend!!”

Djokovic responded on Twitter: “Thanks my friend, honored to learn from the best!!”

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Meanwhile, Nadal acknowledged the exceptional run he, Djokovic and Roger Federer have had at major tournaments is likely to come to an end in 2020.

With Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and a host of other younger stars developing quickly, the Spaniard conceded the Big Three’s run of winning every Grand Slam for three consecutive years was unlikely to be extended through a fourth campaign.

Stan Wawrinka’s win at the US Open in 2016 was the last time a member of the illustrious group did not come out on top at a major.

“I don’t think that the Big Three are going to win all four,” Nadal told French publication L’Equipe, per Express Sport.

“A young player is going to arrive next year.”

Nadal, who recently talked up young prospects Denis Shapovalov and Jannik Sinner, was also asked how long he expected to continue playing and whether the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris were a possibility.

He conceded the prospect was unlikely, but would not rule anything out after completing one of his best-ever seasons on the ATP Tour in 2019.

"“To be at the Olympic Games in Paris would be a dream but it is difficult to say now because it is a long way away,” said Rafael Nadal.“Logic would tell me I will not be there. But you also have to distrust logic.“If you had said to me, five years ago, that I would have such a season in 2019, I would have said it was impossible.“And at the end of 2009, if you had said I would still be playing just before the start of 2020, I would have said no. So logic…”"

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are in Australia getting ready for the ATP Cup, which starts on January 3.

Not long after Andy Murray’s withdrawal from that tournament, Japan’s Kei Nishikori also announced he would not be playing the event and the upcoming Australian Open.

Nishikori, one of the ATP Tour players in need of a bounce back year in 2020, has been struggling to recover from an elbow injury which required surgery in October.

The world number 13 has not played since the US Open, but there will still be plenty of star power on show later this week, with Nadal hoping to inspire Spain again after leading them to Davis Cup glory.