Novak Djokovic drops some cold truth about his relationship with Rafael Nadal

Novak Djokovic has never held back about his drive to be great. He shouldn't. Lots of players likely want to be the best and they work hard trying to get there. It is another thing altogether about trying to be the best and saying you want to. That is normally both a warning to opponents and oneself.

Djokovic has also never been afraid to upset a crowd watching him. Many times it's because of where the Serb is playing and that the crowd is cheering for the other player. But let's be real, this has also been due to the fact that Djokovic never truly gets the respect he deserves from fans who follow players such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

The Serb holds head-to-head leads over the two other Big 3 - Nadal and Federer. This could be for a couple of reasons and some might not want to own the truth. That would be that Djokovic is simply a better player overall than Feder and Djokovic. Nadal is better on clay. Federer might be the better tennis ambassador.

Novak Djokovic gets real about relationship with Rafael Nadal

Sure, Djokovic has slowed down a bit this year. Age will do that to be a person. Federer has retired. Nadal is a shell of his former self. This includes his form at the French Open as well. Or at least his level on the same surface that Roland Garros is performed on. In the first round of the French Open in 2024, he was defeated in two tough sets by Alexander Zverev.

In the second round of the Olympics, though, Nadal was beaten handily by Djokovic in two sets, the first of which was not close. Djokovic played his phantom violin at the end. Some fans got upset. They always will. Djokovic now leads the head-to-head against Nadal 31-29. The Spaniard will never catch up as time has run out for him to do so. This will make many fans upset.

After the victory, Djokovic, normally one who can be a bit more diplomatic in his responses, got very real about his relationship with Nadal. Near the very end of both players' careers, truth is a freedom both have.

Djokovic said, "No, there is no brotherhood at all. We are more rivals and colleagues. In our situation, it’s hard to be close...We have been sharing a part of our lives for a long time, the truth is that I would like our relationship to improve in the future. We are both very family-oriented and our life will change, maybe we can share more things."

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