Novak Djokovic has won three Roland Garros trophies, but he could have had many more than that if Rafael Nadal wasn’t around to cause problems for him.
Having more Roland Garros trophies if Nadal didn’t play isn’t just true for Novak Djokovic; it’s a fact for everyone who won a Roland Garros trophy during his time or came close to it. Roger Federer was only able to snatch one, and it was the year Robin Soderling stunned the Spaniard before he could get himself to the final.
In Djokovic’s case, he at least beat Nadal en route to one of his triumphs. It happened in 2021, but it wasn’t the first time he won Roland Garros. He did it in 2016 when he faced Andy Murray in the final and beat him in four sets. Nadal withdrew from that event due to injury. Djokovic won his last Roland Garros in 2023.
Nadal’s best days had been gone for a while by that point, so he didn’t face him this time, but there were plenty of other matches they played in Paris. Nadal beat him in 2022, which is the year he won the trophy. He beat him in 2020 as well, and that was a final. He beat him in the 2014 final and the 2013 semi-final, so there were lots of matches that Nadal beat him in at Roland Garros.
It’s no wonder that Djokovic feels like he would have more Roland Garros trophies if he didn’t have to deal with Nadal. So would Federer, so would Murray, and maybe even Stan Wawrinka. Who knows what might have happened if the player who has been utterly dominant at the event never played. He’s only like 112-4 at the event, no big deal.
What is interesting, though, is that Djokovic, in that interview with RTS, said he doesn’t think anything else contributed to his total being only three, which some might perceive as a dig towards his opposition. But he’s not wrong. Many analysts have basically declared him the second-best clay player ever behind Nadal, so he might be right.
Probably not, to be completely honest. For me, but for Federer as well. Nadal was unbeatable there for a long time, he lost only a few times at Phillipe-Chatrier stadium. Every time you walk on that court there with him, he is the favorite. Even at the Olympics, he had injury trouble, I was in better form, but still, you know it’s the highest mountain to climb. He is the biggest, perhaps the only reason why I don’t have more Roland-Garros titles, but I say – every win against him there is worth double
When these words come from Novak Djokovic, it’s a compliment. There are no two ways about it because if Djokovic fears an out-of-form, semi-injured 37-year-old Nadal at Roland Garros, it just shows how tough he’s been to beat at this event over the years. The record speaks volumes, but the opinions of his contemporaries speak more.
Djokovic, as one of the best ever, is certainly at the top of the totem pole of opinions.
