Rafael Nadal took to Twitter to congratulate Novak Djokovic on his 20th major win after he beat Matteo Berrettini in the Wimbledon final to complete a hat-trick of Grand Slam titles in 2021.
Novak Djokovic also paid “great tribute” to Rafa and Roger in his victory speech when asked what the milestone meant to him.
Tatamalo, Djokovic’s arrogance and belief is what spurs him on. Unfortunately!
Rafa fan 1, I agree with you!!! Sometimes I wonder, why God allow so many Djokovic in the world and so littles Rafael nadals … that it’s behind our understanding and control as humans !!! But Rafa fan 1, deep down in core I have this strong faith, that when everything it’s said and done, history will favor Nadal over the Joker and the jokers… I believe Djokovic it’s a very envious person of the success of Federer and Nadal
The Citi Open has been cleared to hold a full capacity tournament. That should brighten up the players.
GOOD LUCK RAFA
According to the National Bank Open’s website, Rafa has confirmed that he intends to play in Toronto. The tournament is in the process of getting approval to allow spectators.
Sad to say that it doesn’t look like the U.S. – Canada border will be open by August. But if Rafa holds to the schedule there will be good opportunities for U.S. fans to see him play.
Go Rada!
Also Go Rafa! Rada too.
David, yours at 5:37PM
HILARIOUS…..LOVE IT!
Ingenious solution for that correction.
Really sad about the state of the Olympics. Dunno re Djoker – according to his quotes he seemed to be particularly upset about not being able to have his stringer along. Seriously? That’s the secret to his success?!? And without his stringer he can’t hope to win even in a depleted field? Eh, my guess is he’s gotten a little more realistic about how the Olympics would impact his chances at the USO.
Rafa is back to golfing. I hope he is enjoying his time off and comes back refreshed ready for the Citi Open.
Tanika Retweeted
JB
@Minerva2BC
Just checked the registration list for the amateur tourney at Pula Golf being held this weekend (4th leg of the Hexagonal circuit). Today was the deadline. Look who’s representing the RNA in this installment. #’s to the left are the individual handicaps.
10.3 NADAL HOMAR, Miguel Angel
18 NADAL HOMAR, Rafael
4.2 MASON, Peter
-1.2 NADAL Parera, Rafael
8:31 AM · Jul 14, 2021·Twitter Web App
Although Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Olympics, citing knee issues, I think he made up his mind not to go when it was confirmed that there would be no crowd. Rafa made an early, wise decision not to play and the list of withdrawals just keeps growing.
Even though Novak has said he’s undecided, i’m sure he won’t pass up on the opportunity to play, especiallly as there’ll be a depleated field and considering his poor Olympic record . Another bronze medal for him PLEASE!
What a strange and soulless games it’s going to be without spectators! 😟
Djokovic has now the momentum. He had that momentum from the moment he won against nadal at the french open. He didnt expect to win against nadal at the french open that win gave him huge amount of confidence.
This wimbeldon tournament to be honest was very boring without the presence of nadal. Nadal absence was very mucht felt. I believe that djokovic won wimbeldon largly because of a lack of resistance from his opponents and a lot choking i especially refering to shapovalov in the semifinal.
Now that federer is out of the picture and the so called next generation turned out to be useless and not ready at all to take over from the big 3 is now up to rafa to stop nole momentum.
Good decision from rafa to skip wimbeldon and the olympics I expect a fully recharged nadal back for the hardcourt season. I am ready also other websites and i see a lot reactions from people but also from analysts who have written nadal off because he didnt win the french open. Also I noticed that the bbc commentators were fully in the tank for djokovic.
After djokovic won the french open i express my huge appreciation for djokovic accomplishments but after reading some comments of him and some of the disgraceful nationalistic comments made by ivanisevic and others I truly hope djokovic momentum will come to an end in the hardcourt season.
Everyone is saying that djokovic will win the us open. I disagree with that and the reason past results of nadal at the us open. Nadal has beaten djokovic there twice and won four times the us open and yes novak hasnt lost a match on hardcourt or even a set since the us open final of 2013.
But it starts with believing right. If nadal can lose at the french open then why cant djokovic lose at the us open. I truly hope that the both of them will face eachother before the us open in torono or cincinnati if nadal can pull out a upset by beating djokovic on hardcourt then who knows what will happen with djokovic confidence
Djokovic is on a roll and full of confidence and will be hard to stop in New York. Rafa can do it and I would love him to do it of course but Djokovic’s game is perfectly suited to hard courts, as his career results show. For me his style of play has always been too monotonous. He is a ‘machine’ on court and relies heavily upon his consistency and movement, which, together, enable him to wear his opponents down in long rallies. Hard courts facilitate this because, unlike clay courts, they always give a true and very predictable bounce. There is no flare in his game that I can see.
I much prefer dynamic players who are exciting to watch, even if they do make a few more unforced errors. (I am hoping that Shapovalov can continue to develop his game and his mental resilience when under pressure. He is an exciting player and very courageous in his shot-making, which is much more entertaining to watch.) There is nothing in Djokovic’s game that is exciting to watch and none of his shots can compare with Rafa’s curving topspin forehand down the line!
Unfortunately, Djokovic may well end up with more slams than Rafa but he will never be loved as Rafa is loved. Unlike Djokovic, Rafa combines greatness with modesty and genuine respect for everyone around him. When they retire, I am confident that Rafa will be more content and fulfilled and, ultimately, happier than Djokovic ever could be.
As for Goran’s ridiculous comments about Rafa, they need to be taken with a pinch of salt. What does he know! I suspect he is not very bright. I don’t really understand why Djokovic would even hire him. He won one Major (Wimbledon) and would not have won that without his serve. (Perhaps that is why he was hired: to teach Djokovic how to serve like he did! There was nothing else to his game really. I wouldn’t give him or anything he says, the time of day!
Let’s hope that one or more of the young ‘big hitters’ take Djokovic down in the hard court swing. He needs to be humbled and the sooner the better.
Hi to all the rafans !!! I just finished reading about a comment, Djokovic made in his press conference after winning his 20th GS, he said he know he it’s the best, and he knows it!!! What a arrogant bastard !!! Nadal had set records that no one will brake any time soon!!! 13 Roland-Garros,12 Barcelona, 11 Monte Carlo, 10 Roma crowns , 4 us open , 2 Wimbledon and 1 AO!!! I’m wrong here??? What Rafael Nadal had accomplished its phenomenal!!! So had we measures a Goat??? Oh I forgot!!! 2 Olímpico Gold medal!!! Djokovic doesn’t have such resumes, or the humbleness and class Rafael Nadal possess… for me, Novak Djokovic always will be GBOAT:greatest Bastard of all times !!! Not class whatsoever!!!
I’m not going to go to the lengths of calling Novak the “b” word as Tatmalo has, but on listening to Novak’s press conference, I certainly felt i was listening to a boxer talking after a he’d won a heavyweight title match.
He has immense confidence which has come from serial winning and that confidence and belief did come across as arrogance in his press conference.
“I know I have a very complete game”
“I felt like I was in control of the match from the beginning of the second set”
“I felt like I’ve improved in all areas [over the last decade]: mental strength, experience, understanding of how to cope with the pressure in the big moments, how to be a clutch player when it matters the most…”
“Age is just a number. I don’t feel that I’m old…” (compare that to Rafa’s attitude towards age).
“I feel that I’m probably the most complete that I’ve been as a player right now in my career…I consider myself best and I believe that I’m the best otherwise I wouldn’t be talking confidently about winning slams and making history”.
Then you get Ivenisevic who thinks Novak is a god who can do no wrong “Working with him is a previlige, it’s an honour, it’s everything. For me Novak is the best ever….he’s amazing…it’s impossible to believe you can beat him.”
“We are from [the] Balkans. For people from [the] Balkans, everything is possible. When nobody expects anything, we create everything. We are very very special, special people there”
Ughh!!!
Novak and his coach don’t know the meaning of humility. Roger has his faults, but I’ve never heard him or his coach brag in this way, even though he has been at the top in terms of grand slams and other records long before Novak announced himself. The same goes for Serena Williams.
Novak is fake and unless someone, anyone, steps it up and beats him at the US Open, I’m afraid the Djokovic Juggernaut will just keep on rolling!
Meant “Tatamalo”
Typical Djerker comments. “Me, me, me, me, wonderful me! Why doesn’t everyone love wonderful me as much as I do?”
My post ended up all the way at the bottom (very annoying), so here it is again with a few tweaks.
I’ve come accept that, once the “Big Three” have hung up their racquets, it’s very likely that Novak will have the most grand slams. But what will it have taken him to get there?
Rafa and Roger have reached 20 grand slams with much less extreme physical effort, whereas Novak has gone and will go to any lengths to achieve his ultimate goal: gluten-free diet, constant stretching, carrying an oxygen chamber to the US Open, floating yoga and other extreme exercises, employing several different coaches to give him the edge, screaming at umpires and other officials when things are not to his liking and the list goes on….
All three players have different personalities and private lives. The question is whether Rafa and Roger were prepared to go to such extreme lengths in pursuit of excellence. Obviously not.
I suspect deep down, that Rafa will be more accepting of Novak getting the biggest haul of grand slams than Roger will be, if it happens.
At the end of it all i just want Rafa to be satisfied and content in knowledge that he’s tried his hardest to be the best he can be within the paramters he’s set.
Who knows, maybe now Novak has caught up, Rafa might not feel the pressure in the same way.
Looking ahead to the US Open, I hope Rafa will have fixed his serve and cut down on the unforced errors.
Wishing our champ the enegy, confidence and belief to mount a successful challenge at the final grand slam of the year.
not only the serve but also the backhand and make some changes like hitting more the forehand down the line or returning down the line instead of predictable returning cross.
But moreover fixing the nerves
Yes, i agree – those areas as well. Novak will continue to target Rafa’s backhand (the weaker wing)to get him out of position, so that he can hit to the open space.
There was no doubt in my mind that Rafa would congratulate ND but I did wonder what he would say. Rafa’s heartfelt congratulatory tweet is a testament to his kindness.
Roger’s tweet came early but it didn’t sound as if he was thrilled to have a third member in the “20 Club.” A glaring omission is that he forgot to send his tweet to @DjokerNole. Instead, he sent out a general tweet. Roger being Roger.
I have juxtaposed both tweets to make it easier to compare them.
Roger Federer
@rogerfederer
Congrats Novak on your 20th major. I’m proud to have the opportunity to play in a special era of tennis champions. Wonderful performance, well done!
12:58 PM · Jul 11, 2021
Rafa Nadal
@RafaelNadal
Congrats @DjokerNole on this amazing achievement. 20 Grand Slam titles is huge and it is amazing that we are 3 players tied on this. Well done and, again, congrats to you and your team for this!
@Wimbledon
4:24 PM · Jul 11, 2021
RAFA ROCKS
Indeed, Margo. I noticed the difference when I first read both congratulatory messages. Yes, a heartfelt one from Rafa and quite a succint one from Roger, as I’d anticipated.
It’s become quite crowded at the top and I’m wondering just how Roger truly feels, sharing the top spot with 20 grand slams, when he’s spent so long out in front.
Roger was in front…before Rafa appeared.
He has withdrawn from the Olympics citing a “knee setback” but hopes to be back “later this summer.”
Thanks for the explanation! 😊😊