Djokovic Eager for "Important" Nadal to Recover Quickly From Surgery

| by Alex Waite

Novak Djokovic has praised Rafael Nadal's influence on tennis and wants to see the Spanish veteran return to action later this season.

Nadal's last appearance came at the Australian Open in January when he sustained an injury during a straight-sets defeat against MacKenzie McDonald. As a result, the 37-year-old has missed out on defending his Roland Garros title and underwent surgery on Friday, June 2 on his psoas muscle.

The recovery time for Nadal is expected to be around five months, which would rule him out of the remainder of the 2023 season. When speaking to reporters about Nadal at Roland Garros, 22-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic said he wants Rafa to get back to fitness as his presence is good for the sport.

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"I really hope that, yeah, his rehabilitation process can go well and that we can see him next season. I think that he's so important for our game on and off the court, one of the greatest legends of tennis in the history of the game. We want to see healthy Rafa, no question about it, playing for what he has announced his last season. You know, hopefully he's gonna be able to do that."

Djokovic told reporters at the Roland Garros

In addition, Djokovic reflected on his own surgery problems in the past and shared empathy with Nadal about his ongoing injury troubles. The Serbian player also gave an insight on how surgery is usually the final option when an issue cannot be solved through training or form.

"I got one surgery in my career on the elbow, and I know how hard it is to get back. It's just one of those things that you don't want any athlete to go through."

"Sometimes I guess it's necessary. For him it's been several times now throughout his career. I don't know what the severity of or the nature of his injury is, but, you know, if he got on a surgery table, it means there was no other solution."

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