"It was nice to see Rafael Nadal & his family... He gave his best & wasn't to be" - Novak Djokovic on Spaniard's unfortunate Indian Wells withdrawal

Novak Djokovic recently gave his thoughts on Rafael Nadal's withdrawal from the 2024 Indian Wells Masters.

On Wednesday (March 6), Nadal took to his social media handle ahead of his first-round match in Indian Wells to disclose to his fans that he had suffered an injury setback in his preparations for the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

“It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from this amazing tournament. It is with great sadness that I have to withdraw from this amazing tournament at Indian Wells," Rafael Nadal wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account. "Everyone knows how much I love this place and how much I love to play here. That’s also one of the reasons why I came very early to the desert to practice and try to get ready."

Djokovic, who considers Nadal his biggest rival, was asked to express his views on the Spaniard's withdrawal from the 2024 Indian Wells Masters during his pre-tournament press conference on Thursday (March 7).

The Serb asserted that it was a big blow for the Palm Springs event that the three-time titlist will not be in the mix during the fortnight. He added that the 37-year-old probably wanted to be in the best physical shape for the European claycourt swing, a part of the season that the Spaniard has monopolized over his long and illustrious career.

"You know, it's sad for the tournament that Rafa had to withdraw and also for him. I traveled with him to America, that was not planned. It was nice to see him and his family," Novak Djokovic said (6:35). "And, I know he came in early because he really wanted to adjust to the time zone, get as much as practice as possible, get himself ready to play."

"That's why he came in early. So he gave his best and wasn't to be, but he's always saying he wants his peak of abilities to come during the claycourt season obviously."

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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have met four times at the Indian Wells Masters

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal

Novak Djokovic leads Rafael Nadal by a close margin of 30-29 in their head-to-head meetings on the ATP Tour. Moreover, the World No. 1 has also dominated the 22-time Major winner on hard courts, having beaten him in 20 of their 27 encounters on the surface.

Out of those 20 wins, three of the 24-time Major winner's victories over his rival have come at Indian Wells. Although the Serb was defeated 6-2, 7-5 by the Spaniard in their first-ever ATP Masters 1000 championship match-meeting, he came out on top of their next match in the Californian desert the following year by a scoreline of 6-3, 6-2.

The two then played a high-quality final at the Masters event in 2011, with Djokovic winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 25 minutes. The Serb again had the Spaniard's number during their semifinal meeting at the tournament four years later, beating him 7-6(5), 6-2 en route to his fifth and most recent Indian Wells title.