"It's strange people talking about Novak Djokovic... he was here before" - When Rafael Nadal responded to claims about Serb's 'big improvement'

Heading into the 2011 season, Novak Djokovic had only one Grand Slam to his name and was almost universally considered the third wheel to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Nadal and Federer were at the top of the game back then, with the Swiss having won 16 Slams and the Spaniard nine at the time.

2011, however, witnessed Djokovic winning the Australian Open and the Wimbledon Championships, with Nadal taking the French Open in between. At the US Open that year, Nadal was asked in his pre-tournament press conference if he was surprised to see Djokovic make such a 'big improvement' all of a sudden.

The southpaw evidently did not agree with the premise of the question. Rafael Nadal said it was "strange" to see journalists talk about Djokovic like he had burst on the scene out of the blue, when in fact he believed the Serb had always shown "fantastic potential."

The Mallorcan added that he was not surpised in the slightest to see Novak Djokovic winning Slams and becoming World No. 1.

"For me it's a little bit strange about the people here from tennis [talking] about Djokovic, about his big new improvement. Djokovic was here before, no? Djokovic played fantastic before. He had fantastic potential to be where he is today. He's doing great. He's playing without injuries. He's playing very solid, the mental, the tennis. What he's doing is something very difficult to repeat," Rafael Nadal said.

"For me surprise? I think for everybody surprise see a player that he's not losing. He's only lost two matches during all the year. For everybody surprising, but for me is no surprise that Djokovic is No. 1. For me is not a surprise that Djokovic is able to win Grand Slams, because he's very good. That's not from six months ago," he added.

Rafael Nadal lost to Novak Djokovic in the 2011 US Open final

2024 Brisbane International: Day 6

Rafael Nadal was the defending champion at the 2011 US Open, having beaten Novak Djokovic in the previous year's final to win his maiden title at Flushing Meadows. The pair met once again in the 2011 final, with Djokovic exacting revenge in four sets to win his first title in New York.

In the semifinals, the Serb defeated Roger Federer, before which he took down the likes of Janko Tipsarevic, Nikolay Davydenko and Alexandr Dolgopolov. Nadal, on the other hand, defeated the likes of Andy Murray and Andy Roddick to reach the championship round.