"He's definitely next to Rafa and Roger, the greatest rival I ever had" - Novak Djokovic on Andy Murray

Novak Djokovic has hailed his good friend Andy Murray as one of the greatest rivals he has faced in his nearly two-decade-long professional career.

The duo were set to meet in the third round of the ongoing Madrid Masters on Thursday. It would have been their first meeting in more than five years. However, the Scot had to withdraw from the match due to illness, handing Djokovic a free passage to the last eight.

Speaking on Tennis Channel, Djokovic said he had nothing but respect for Murray, with whom he shares a storied rivalry. The Serb, who leads the head-to-head against the Brit 25-16, went as far as to place Murray on the same pedestal as his other great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

He said:

"Andy, first of all, is a great champion, someone I admire a lot, someone I respect a lot. We had some great encounters over the years on all different surfaces. We played finals of every Slam, I think. He's the only player I've played against in every final (of Slam). Might be the case with Rafa as well. He's definitely next to Rafa and Roger, the greatest rivals I ever had."

Djokovic also expressed regret that Murray couldn't take to court and stated he hoped to meet his fellow 34-year-old soon. He said:

"I'm very sorry that he was not able to come out on the court. Obviously, it's not great for the tournament, for our sport. Everyone was looking forward to that encounter. We haven't played each other, in like, five years. But hopefully, we'll get a chance to play soon."

Djokovic's last meeting with Murray was in the final of the 2017 Doha Round.

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"I think there is something special to our rivalry" - Novak Djokovic on his rivalry with Andy Murray

Novak Djokovic (left) greets Andy Murray at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics last summer.

Novak Djokovic's rivalry with Andy Murray goes back a long way. The duo first met in an Under-12 tournament in France and have gone on to clash in the biggest of tournaments since.

Djokovic, who is only a week younger than Murray, hailed the rivalry as "special".

"I think there is something special to our rivalry (because of the fact that) we are of the same age, only one month difference between us in age. We grew up together. The first match we played against each other was under-12 in France in junior tournament. We go back a long time."

Djokovic and Murray are among a handful of pairs in men's tennis to have met in the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments. The Serb has won seven of those meetings, losing in the title matches at the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon. The pair have split their 10 meetings in Masters 1000 finals.

In their only clash in the final of the ATP Finals, Murray emerged victorious to end the 2016 season as the year-end World No. 1.

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