Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in disagreement as Serb refuses to explain | Tennis | Sport

He added: “I have no intention of speaking in a negative light about him or Roger Federer – my respect towards them supersedes some negative opinions I might have. Again, that’s Rafa’s opinion and I, of course, don’t agree. I have my opinion, but I won’t share it as I don’t want us to go deeper into that. There is no need for that.”

Djokovic has the chance to face Nadal once again at the Australian Open. The tournament’s chief Craig Tiley has claimed that the two-time champion will make his return from injury down under.

“We can reveal exclusively here that Rafa will be back,” Tiley said. “He’s been off for most of the year and in talking to him over the last few days he confirmed he will be back, which we’re really excited about, the champion of 2022. That’s awesome.”

Nadal’s camp played down that suggestion, however, as his spokesperson clarified: “We have seen the reports and comments but as of today we wouldn’t be able to confirm. Definitely we don’t know yet. Too early to say. We have definitely not released any date cause we simply don’t know it. Rafa is just starting to practice.”