Former WTA player Ana Ivanovic revealed a meeting from 2008 with Rafael Nadal where he talked about possibly retiring too soon in his career.
2008 was quite a few years ago, and since then, the tennis landscape changed a lot. Back then, Nadal looked like the best player we've ever seen; however, nowadays, he's only second or third, depending on where your allegiance is.
Novak Djokovic is number one, according to many; it's not hard to deduce why. He's ahead of Nadal, and Roger Federer in so many stats that it's impossible to argue against it.
The Spaniard had a feeling that might happen all the way back in 2008, according to Ana Ivanovic. The former player revealed an anecdote in a recent interview on the Alesto Podcast, admitting that Nadal talked about his possible health struggles.
I remember Rafa telling me in 2008, 'I don't know how long I will last,' and here is Novak, he is fighting. The fact that Novak is so strong and healthy is really fascinating to me, kudos to him.
Despite many years passing, it doesn't seem like Nadal would be stopping anytime soon, but he has struggled a lot recently. In one of his recent interviews, the Spaniard admitted that Djokovic had a better career because he was simply more healthy than himself.
Whether you agree with the way Nadal phrased that or not, the Spaniard did deal with more injuries than Djokovic. Now, you can argue that the Serbian puts more emphasis on his body than Nadal, and you'd probably be right, but it's always been something Nadal admired from afar.
Even now, Djokovic is battling players ten years younger than him and outlasting them and beating them regularly. It's quite amazing to see which his compatriot Ivanovic agrees with.
Honestly, we didn't think it would last that long. What's really fascinating to me is how he manages to keep his body in good shape and healthy. It's a hard sport, it has a big impact on the body, we can see it from Roger and Rafa.
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