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.
Winning more Roland Garros trophies if Nadal didn’t play isn't just true for Djokovic; it’s a fact for everyone who won a Roland Garros trophy during their time or came close to it. Roger Federer was only able to snatch one, and it was in the year when 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 that time, but there were plenty of other matches they played in Paris.
Nadal beat the Serbian in 2022, which is the year he won the trophy. He beat him in 2020 as well, and that was another final. He beat him in the 2014 final and the 2013 semi-final, so there were many matches that Nadal beat his main rival 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? The Spaniard 112-4 at the event, a record that will probably never be matched.
What is interesting, though, is that Djokovic, in an interview with Serbian broadcaster RTS, said he doesn’t think anything else contributed to his total at the French Open being only three.
Many analysts have declared him the second-best clay player ever behind Nadal, so his statements are likely very true.
"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 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 Nadal has been to beat at Roland Garros over the years.
The record speaks volumes, but the opinions of his contemporaries speak more.
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