After attending the touching tribute ceremony, Djokovic revealed his relationship with Nadal candidly

Djokovic advanced to the third round of the French Open for the 19th time in his career. After the second-round win over Mutai, Djokovic spoke about his rivalry with Nadal and said it was one of his biggest motivations to continue playing tennis.

In recognition of Nadal's achievements at Roland Garros, the French Open Organizing Committee held a ceremony to honor him at the beginning of the tournament. The Spaniard has won a total of 14 titles in Paris, a record that is immortal in the history of tennis. His footprints were made into copper plates and permanently inlaid in the Stade Philippe Chartier. Federer, Murray and Djokovic were also in attendance to bid farewell to the veteran – something they failed to do at the 2024 Davis Cup.

In a courtside interview after yesterday's match, the 38-year-old said that it was difficult for him to maintain motivation after the other three members of the "BIG4" – Federer, Nadal and Murray – retired one after another, especially Nadal's retirement.

"It's been really not easy in the last few years, like you said, those people, they are, and always will be, the biggest opponents in my career. So when Rafa retired, I felt like a part of myself was gone with him. I didn't think it would be like this, but it was, it really felt that way. Djokovic said.

He also said that these rivalries are not limited to the field, but also have established links off the field for more than two decades. He hopes that this scenario will be repeated in tennis in the future, and that he can be a part of it.

"Well, because those competitions don't just happen on the court, they happen off the court, so it's been a really good 20 years of tennis. I hope that while I am still playing, I can continue to bring some positive effects to the sport. For me, that's a dream. Djokovic added.

Djokovic will face Philipp Misolic from Austria in the third round. The two have never faced each other on the ATP Tour before, and this will be a "fresh" matchup full of uncertainties.

Novak Djokovic has yet to drop a set at this French Open. He beat McDonald 6-3 6-3 6-3 in the first round and Mutai 6-3 6-2 7-6(1) in the second round. The match against Mutai lasted three hours and five minutes in a tie-break in the third set, and Djokovic was the highlight of the match with 44 winning points and a 78% scoring rate in front of the net.

Misolic, on the other hand, defeated Draxl, Neumayer and Shevchenko in straight sets in the qualifying round to advance to the main draw. He defeated Buyun Chokert 5-7 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 6-1 in the first round of the main draw before coming back from five sets in the second round to knock out 27th seed Shapovalov.

The 23-year-old will confidently face Novak Djokovic for a place in the round of 16. He is fearless, which makes him a dangerous opponent. He has only played 22 tournaments in his career so far, winning 12 of them, 11 of which have come on clay, showing that clay is the type of court he is best at.

All things considered, this match may not be easy for Djokovic, but with his consistency and experience, he is still sure to advance to the next round.(Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)