Novak Djokovic has been spending time with his family after his semi-final defeat at the 2024 Australian Open but his next tournament is now confirmed where he could potentially face his old rival Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic didn’t have the most memorable outing at Melbourne Park as he lost to the eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals and struggled to win matches throughout the tournament.
The Serb held a presser after exiting the slam Down Under and made comments that left doubts about whether he would return to the court anytime soon or not.
There were doubts about his participation at the Indian Wells and Miami Open after the comments, however, it has now been confirmed that the 24-time Grand Slam winner will travel to the United States to play.
Indian Wells confirmed Djokovic’s participation in the tournament, which will be his first since 2019, where he will aim to win his fifth title.
The Serb is also likely to confirm his participation in the Miami Open which will be played right after Indian Wells. Djokovic will look forward to increasing his lead at the top of the ATP rankings.
Rafael Nadal will also participate at the Indian Wells, as the tournament organisers are promoting the Spaniard’s return as “The Return of The King”.
If both players play in the tournament, the old rivals will likely cross one another’s part and the tennis enthusiast will get to witness the legendary rivalry one more time.
Nadal and Djokovic have been competing at the highest level since their first encounter at Roland Garros in 2006 where the Spaniard emerged victorious.
That was the start of a legendary rivalry that would share 59 matches — a record in men's tennis — between them with some of the greatest encounters including the 2012 Australian Open final, which was the longest major final match by duration that lasted 5 hours, 53 minutes with the Serbian beating the Spaniard.
