"Happily interacting while their fans have angry rage meltdowns at each other" - Fans react to Novak Djokovic & Rafael Nadal's warm hug at French Open

Tennis fans reacted to Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal sharing a heartwarming embrace at the 2024 French Open. The two tennis stars exchanged pleasantries ahead of their first-round match at Roland Garros .

Djokovic arrived in Paris without a title to his name this season. He had semifinal runs at the Australian Open and the Monte-Carlo Masters, but subpar performances at the Indian Wells Masters and the Italian Open.

Seeking to improve his form and gain match practice ahead of the French Open, the Serb recently competed at the Geneva Open, an ATP 250 clay court tournament. He was seeded first and began his campaign by defeating Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3 in his opening match. He then overcame Tallon Griekspoor 7-5, 6-1 in the quarterfinals but lost to eventual runner-up Tomas Machac 4-6, 6-0, 1-6 in the semifinals.

Novak Djokovic will now begin his French Open campaign against wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert on Monday, May 27.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal is potentially playing his final year as a professional. After missing last year due to injuries, he made a comeback this year at the Brisbane International, followed by appearances at the Barcelona Open, Madrid Open, and the Italian Open.

The Spaniard, who is a 14-time French Open champion and has an impressive 112-3 win-loss record at the tournament, will face fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the first round on Monday.

Prior to their opening matches, Djokovic and Nadal were seen embracing on the court in Paris, much to the delight of tennis fans.

This interaction between the two legends sparked joy among the fans, who took to social media to express their happiness .

One fan stated that despite the rivalry between their fan bases, the sight of Djokovic and Nadal hugging showed that there is mutual respect and camaraderie between the duo.

"Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic happily interacting while their fans have angry rage meltdowns at each other on this app will never not be hilarious. 😂 " the fan posted.

"I think both fan bases need to hug it out like this," a fan posted.

Several fans emphasized the importance of enjoying the opportunity to witness the "two legends" compete.

"That is lovely! Enjoy these two legends while you can," a fan wrote.

"This is 😍 appreciate legends while they are still playing," a fan wrote.

"Bring on the SF,one last dance between two of the legends," a fan posted.

While one questioned whether their embrace could be considered the "tennis moment of the year."

"Tennis moment of the year?" one posted.

One fan stated that there was no hatred between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, instead it is just "healthy sports rivalry.

"No hate. Just healthy sports rivalry," a fan posted.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have met 10 times at the French Open

French Open 2012

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have faced off 59 times on the ATP Tour, with the former emerging victorious in 30 matches and the Spaniard winning 29. The two tennis legends have gone up against each other 10 times at the French Open, with Nadal coming out on top in eight of those encounters.

Their first ATP Tour meeting took place in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in 2006, where the 22-time Grand Slam champion emerged victorious after Djokovic retired from the match during the third set due to an injury. The Spaniard continued his dominance over the Serb in their next five French Open meetings from 2007 to 2014.

The World No.1 finally broke Rafael Nadal's French Open winning streak in the quarterfinal in 2015, but then fell short at claiming the title after losing to Stan Wawrinka in the final.

In 2020, Nadal defeated Djokovic to win the French Open title. However, the Serb got his revenge in 2021 by defeating Nadal in the semifinal and ultimately winning the championship by defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Their last encounter was in the quarterfinals of the 2022 French Open, which Nadal won. He went on to defeat Casper Ruud in the final to secure his record 14th French Open title and his 22nd Grand Slam title overall.