Novak Djokovic has picked Andy Murray (left) among his greatest rivals.
Novak Djokovic has hailed his good friend Andy Murray as one of the greatest rivals he has faced in his nearly two-decade long professional career.
The duo were set to meet in the third round of the ongoing Madrid Masters on Wednesday. It would have been their first meeting in more than five years. However, the Scot had to withdraw from the match due to illness, handing Djokovic a free passage to the last eight.
Nevertheless, Djokovic has nothing but respect and admiration for Murray, with whom he shares a storied rivalry, leading 25-16 head-to-head. Putting Murray on the same pedestal as his other great rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, Djokovic said on Tennis Channel YouTube channel:
“Andy, first of all, is a great champion, someone I admire a lot, someone I respect a lot. We had some great encounters over the years on all different surfaces. We played finals of every Slam, I think. He’s the only player I’ve played against in every final (of Slam). Might be the case with Rafa as well. He’s definitely next to Rafa and Roger, the greatest rivals I ever had.”
Expressing regret that Murray couldn’t come out on court, Djokovic hopes to meet his fellow 34-year-old soon, saying:
“I’m very sorry that he was not able to come out on the court. Obviously, it’s not great for the tournament, for our sport. Everyone was looking forward to that encounter. We haven’t played each other, in like, five years. But hopefully, we’ll get a chance to play soon.”
Djokovic’s last meeting with Murray was in the final of the 2017 Doha Round of 16, which the Serb won in three sets to avenge his 2016 ATP Finals final defeat.
“I think there is something special to our rivalry” – Novak Djokovic on his rivalry with Andy Murray
Novak Djokovic (left) greets Andy Murray at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last summer.
Novak Djokovic’s rivalry with Andy Murray goes back a long way. The duo first met in an Under-12 tournament in France and have gone on to clash in the biggest of tournaments.
Djokovic, who is only a week younger than Murray, spoke about his ‘special’ rivalry, saying:
“I think there is something special to our rivalry (because of the fact that) we are of the same age, only one month difference between us in age. We grew up together. The first match we played against each other was under-12 in France in junior tournament. We go back a long time.”
Djokovic-Murray is one of a handful of pairs in men’s tennis to have met in the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. The Serb has won seven of those meetings, losing in the title matches at the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon. The pair have split their 10 meetings in the Masters 1000 finals.
In their only clash in the final of the ATP Finals, Murray emerged victorious to end the 2016 season as the year-end World No. 1.
