Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are rivals who respect each other very much, but their relationship is limited.
The Serbian has always been very complimentary of the legendary Spaniard and his other rival, Roger Federer, who is now retired and doesn't compete anymore. Their existence is, in many ways, why he exists: They pushed each other through their achievements, and he considers them as vital for his legacy as himself.
Yet, through all that, there is a clear difference in how he sees them and how they see each other. It's pretty well known that Federer and Nadal have developed a friendship by now.
It's a unique trajectory when it comes to rivals, but in many ways, they are very similar. Djokovic, on the other hand, has always had a clear idea of how he sees Nadal and Federer, and friendship was never part of that equation.
The Serbian greatly respects and admires both, but as shown in his most recent match against Nadal, there is very little love there. He approached the match seriously and smashed him in two sets.
After the match, Djokovic spoke about his relationship with his Spanish rival, saying there is nothing like a friendship or brotherhood there. It's a pure rivalry that was built on mutual respect.
"There is no brotherhood, it is more of a rivalry, and mutual respect because of everything we have achieved during our careers. It is very difficult to be close, we are the biggest rivals."
"I don’t want to tell him some ‘inside’ things about life, about how you feel because that can be used against you. That’s why you can’t keep such people at this level so close."
Even so, Djokovic has always maintained that he's open to becoming closer to Nadal and Federer when his playing days are over. They won't become the greatest of friends necessarily, but he has never been against it in principle.
It just doesn't make much sense during the playing day because they are still competing on the ATP Tour, and Nadal is still a player whom he wants to beat when he is on a tennis court.
When that part of their lives is over, though, he's certainly open to things changing.
"But, who knows, when both of our careers are over, we have a long life ahead of us, we are family people, and I hope we can turn our lives around and live them in a different way."
There is plenty to bond about when it comes to the three legends, as they've had pretty amazing careers and love tennis to the core. They are also quite committed family men who don't seek the spotlight too much, even though Djokovic looked much more comfortable in it than Nadal.
They are not similar personality-wise, but who knows, maybe that works in their favour as well.