Novak Djokovic Shares Appreciation Post Of Rafael Nadal While On A Flight To America

Despite being tennis rivals who have had beef over the past couple years, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal maintain a solid relationship off the court.

Both men are America-bound for next month’s Indian Wells tournament in California. For the first time in what feels like forever, Djokovic won’t be indefensibly barred from this tournament like he has in years past.

The two European stars had to fly to the U.S., since swimming across the Atlantic Ocean really isn’t feasible. But both were surprised to find out that they each chose the same flight. 

Djokovic posted a picture of the surprise meeting between the two.

This photo contains 46 Grand Slams titles between the two, which is exactly 46 more than I have.

Djokovic and Nadal have always been some of the best players on the planet from their generation. As such, they’ve formed a fierce rivalry, with Djokovic holding a slight edge in overall head-to-head record and finals matches (30-29 and 15-13, respectively).

But their rivalry turned up in intensity in 2022 over something not directly related to tennis.

Djokovic And Nadal's Rivalry Got Even More Intense Thanks To COVID

Djokovic got deported from Australia in January of that year because of his vaccination status. That meant he could not play in the Australian Open.

This was a key development for both men. At the time, they were tied with Roger Federer with 20 Grand Slam titles each, a record for most on the men’s side. Djokovic has traditionally dominated this event, but with him out of the way, Nadal eventually won and stood alone as the winningest men’s tennis player ever.

What made this more infuriating is that Nadal showed little - if any - sympathy for his rival’s situation.

"In some way I feel sorry for him," Nadal told the media during that tournament. "But at the same time, he knew the conditions since a lot of months ago, so he makes his own decision."

Nadal (left) and Djokovic (right) remain on fairly good terms despite being intense rivals on the court. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images for Laver Cup)

Nadal didn’t say anything wrong, but it’s not hard to decipher his enjoyment over his rival’s plight that gave him the inside track to set the record.

He would win the 2022 French Open, and gained even more separation from Djokovic. But once the world started being less stringent on its vaccine mandates, the Serbian said "hold my beer."

Djokovic then won four of the next seven Grand Slam tournaments, while Nadal failed to win any. Now, Djokovic stands alone as the man with the most Grand Slam titles in history.

After Djokovic won his 23rd title to surpass him, Nadal offered his congratulations to his rival, seemingly ending the feud. I think winning 24 titles and proving he’s objectively better than Nadal might have helped end it as well.

Either way, the appreciation post was a nice touch. We’ll see if they remain that friendly with each other once the tournament begins.