Rafael Nadal played a good match against Alexander Zverev at the 2024 Roland Garros, but according to Novak Djokovic, he was quite unlucky.
The match wasn't Zverev's strongest one, but he had moments where he easily outplayed the 22-time major winner. He was the better player overall and found a higher level when he needed it, but it wasn't a signature win for Zverev.
The Spanish legend himself played really well, but it wasn't a special performance that would get him to the win, and yet, he left a lot on the table.
He served for the second set and then had a couple of other chances to make it a more competitive match but never quite got it done. His long-time rival, Djokovic, was encouraged by what he saw from his rival.
He was actually one of those players in attendance at the match, so he got a really close look at how the Spaniard played. Djokovic found Nadal playing better than in the weeks before and certainly good enough to at least win a set against Zverev.
"Yeah, it looks like it. I think he played very well comparing to what we saw from his performance in -- where was it? -- in Rome and where he played in Barcelona, I think he played really on a much higher level. Even though he lost in straight sets, second and third were really close."
Djokovic thought that Nadal could have won at least one set, which could have made the match more interesting. Maybe he could not have won the match, but it was a positive outing for Nadal.
"He could have easily won one of those two sets, and maybe the match was going in a different direction. But he was a bit unlucky with the draw, because Zverev, he is in a great form, winning Rome, and he was serving extremely well. It's tough to play Sascha when he's feeling the ball so well."