Lost to a better player, says Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic said he was pleased with the battle he set up in another rare challenge against his great opponent Rafa Nadal in the French Open quarter-final, conceding on Tuesday that he lost to a superior player.

The 35-year-old victor of 20 Grand Slam titles, surrendered an early break to Nadal in the initial three sets and had two set points in the fourth. Although, the Spaniard secured the four-hour, 12-minute challenge in the sudden death round.

“I gave my best. I lost to a better player today. Had my chances. Didn’t use them. That’s it. You know, over four hours’ battle, and I have to accept this defeat,” said Djokovic

Djokovic crushed Nadal, who has won 13 of his men’s record 21 Grand Slam titles on the Parisian mud, in last year’s semi-finals at Roland Garros prior to lifting the Musketeers’ Cup briefly time in his vocation.

Nadal showed up in Paris this year after two injuries that had hampered his preparations and came into Tuesday’s challenge following an extreme five-set win in his last match. In any case, he actually tracked down the endurance to beat Djokovic in their 59th profession meeting.