25 August,2014 08:29 AM IST | | Agencies
Spaniard will be missing the US Open due to injury but one of his biggest rivals and World No 1, whom he defeated in last year's final, is of the opinion that the Spaniard will be back stronger
Rafael Nadal
New York: Rafael Nadal will be missing the US Open due to injury but one of his biggest rivals and World No 1 Novak Djokovic, whom he defeated in last year's final, is of the opinion that the Spaniard will be back stronger.
Rafael Nadal
"He slides a lot and spends a lot of energy on each shot. His joints, his body suffers a lot, and it's not easy. But again, he has found a way always to come back, so I expect no less," said Djokovic, who has been in every final here at Flushing Meadows since 2010,
Djokovic pointed to Nadal's stunning 2013 season in which he returned from a seven-month absence to win 10 titles in a career-high 14 finals and finish world number one for third time.
Djokovic added: "When he comes back to the tour than to see him strong, to see him motivated. He's a great competitor, a great fighter.
I'm sure that if he had a small percentage of coming here and playing he would do that, because he just loves the game. I have a lot of respect for him."
