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Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic (Source- Getty images)
The Italian Open has already started and though there have been some surprising exits, there will still be some iconic players in the setup. this will also be the first tournament this season that will feature both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. The last time these two players faced of against each other was in the 2022 French Open where the King Of Clay emerged victorious in the quarter-finals of the grand slam.
These two have probably had one of the best rivalries in the game we have ever witnessed. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have even had some of the best rivalries in this ATP tournament as well. The Italian Open has been one of the tournaments where El Nino finally met his match. This was the tournament where both these arch-rivals were completely dominating Rome and showing everyone how to play on Clay.
The Chances of the great rivalry
Though we all will enjoy seeing these two compete possibly for the last time since Rafael Nadal is currently in the last phase of his career, but the situation is slightly different this time around. While Djokovic is still the world number 1 and will be starting from the first round being the highest-seeded player, Nadal will be playing in the first round against Qualifier Zizou Begs. Nadal will also have to get past Hubert Hurkacz in the second round as well. It seems like the chances will be slightly difficult as it looks like they might most likely face off in the fourth round or the quarter-finals. Seeing Nadal's form as well it seems like there are very less chances for that to happen.
However, we should still keep high hopes as there is always a chance of seeing an epic clash between them and we will once again get to witness another epic rivalry between the two. It is still great to see the two greats in the same tournament after a long time, especially in a tournament where they have had some gruelling matches. We will have to stay tune for the tournament to see if we get to see this famous Serb-Spaniard rivalry go back and forth yet again.