Rafael Nadal envisions Novak Djokovic ending the year as the World No. 1

Rafael Nadal has given his prediction about who is likely to end the 2023 season as the leader of the ATP rankings, and it's none other than his biggest rival — Novak Djokovic.

Nadal and Djokovic share arguably the greatest rivalry in the history of men's tennis. They have faced each other a total of 59 times, and the overall head-to-head currently reads 30-29 in favor of Djokovic. At the Slams, however, Nadal leads the head-to-head 11-7.

Djokovic recently won the 2023 Australian Open to equal Nadal's tally of 22 Majors, the most ever among men.

Before the first Grand Slam event of the year, the ATP sat down with a few players in Melbourne and asked them to name the stars who they thought would reign supreme over others. When asked who would finish the season as the World No. 1, Nadal said:

"Novak, because he has been there in that position for such a long time."

When Djokovic lifted his 10th Australian Open trophy last month, he regained the top spot in the rankings. Into his 375th week as the World No. 1, the Serb is just a few days away from breaking Steffi Graf's all-time record (377 weeks) for most weeks at the top.

Djokovic already holds the record for ending the most seasons as the No. 1 player among the men — seven times. The other two members of the Big-3, Roger Federer and Nadal, have finished as the ATP leaders five times each.

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"He never ceases to amaze" - Horacio Zeballos hopes Rafael Nadal makes a strong comeback

Rafael Nadal during the 2023 Australian Open

Rafael Nadal suffered a hip injury during his second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald at the 2023 Australian Open, which has sidelined him ever since. But determined to continue playing for as long as he can, the Spaniard has repeatedly dismissed retirement speculations.

Speaking to CLAY magazine recently, Argentine doubles player Horacio Zeballos praised Nadal for his ability to return from grave situations on numerous occasions. Zeballos expects the 14-time Roland Garros champion to do so once more in the coming days.

"If it is the end, it would be because of something more mental than physical," Zeballos said. "It is very difficult to say because he has surprised us many times with his ability to come back so well after injuries. I speak to you as a tennis fan more than from logic. I hope he will be there this year because it is very nice to see him play."

“Like Federer, like Djokovic, Nadal has shown that he can stop and come back with inhuman achievements. He gets injured and then wins, I don’t knowohow many more Grand Slams. Age does not help things to be the same as 10 years ago. Seems difficult for him to return to the top level he has shown for so many years, but he never ceases to amaze us. Let’s hope he comes back strongly,” he added.