'Living The Sport For These Moments,' Nadal Reacts To Facing Djokovic In French Open

Rafael Nadal expressed delight over facing Novak Djokovic at the semi-final of the French Open 2021, saying “we are living the sport for these moments.”

Nadal and Djokovic, who have won a combined 38 Grand Slams, are set to face off for a record 58th time in an ATP match when they lock horns in the last-four stage of the Roland Garros in Paris on Friday. This will be their 15th meeting in the semi-finals or later at the major tournaments, and their ninth meeting at the clay-court Grand Slam.

Nadal, who dropped a set in the French Open for the first time since 2019, defeated Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in a four-set quarter-final Wednesday. Meanwhile, Djokovic did a significant amount of work for his win over Italy’s Matteo Berrettini in four sets.

Talking to ATP's official website about facing Djokovic in the semi-final, the third-seeded Nadal said "it’s always a big challenge."

"It’s always a big challenge. [The] best thing is you know that you need to play your best tennis. It's a match that you know what you have to do if you really want to have chances to succeed and to keep going on [in] the tournament. That's something that is good because in some ways we are practicing [and] we are living the sport for these moments… The negative thing [is that] it's difficult because you play against one of the best players in the [sport's] history," Nadal told the websiteWednesday.

Nadal recently defeated Djokovic in three sets to claim his 10th ATP Rome title, extending his lead to 19-7 on clay against the Serbian player.

During the underway French Open, the commentators said, facing Nadal at the Roland Garros is the hardest thing to do in tennis. Reacting to that, the 13-time champion came up with a humble response.

"I am not the one to talk about myself. I can't avoid that I have great numbers here [at] Roland Garros… [The fact] that commentators think about me that way is something that I am proud of. It's an honor for me. Of course, the numbers are just amazing. But I can't think about that now, honestly. Let's talk about that when I finish my career. Now is a moment to be happy. I won an important match today against a tough opponent. I was able to find a way to play my best tennis in the moments that I really needed to," said Nadal, who now has an incredible 26-0 record in the semi-final stage in the French Open.