Novak Djokovic says Rafael Nadal's level on clay is "always very high", claims there is "no chance" of beating the Spaniard without playing at a "high level"

Novak Djokovic has been drawn in the same half as Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros this year, meaning the two are projected to meet in the semifinals.

Novak Djokovic is one of only two men to have defeated Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros; the Serb beat the Spaniard in straight sets in the 2015 French Open quarterfinals. Nadal, meanwhile, has defeated Djokovic a whopping seven times in Paris, including the famous beatdown he inflicted upon the Serb in the final last year.

Speaking to the media ahead of his first-round match against Tennys Sandgren, Novak Djokovic showered rich praise on Nadal's claycourt prowess.

"You know that he's always going to give you his best on any surface," Djokovic said. "He's always going to produce some great quality tennis, particularly on clay. That's his most preferred surface. That's where he's always at his best."

Novak Djokovic has lost five matches on the trot against Rafael Nadal on clay; he last beat the Spaniard on the surface at the Italian Open in 2016. Speaking about his record against the Spaniard, Djokovic said he simply did not play at the level needed to beat Nadal.

"The record-wise the last four or five matches that I lost to him on clay, some close ones, some that he dominated, was probably due to the level of tennis that I played that wasn't just meeting his level, when his level on clay is always there, always very high," added Novak Djokovic.

"If you don't meet him there, if you don't produce a high level of performance on this surface, you have no chance to win the match on this surface against him."

Rafael Nadal practicing ahead of the 2021 French Open

The Serb was dismantled in last year's final, managing just seven games in total. However, Djokovic believes he can give the Spaniard a tough time this year, given how close he ran him in the Italian Open final.

"Hopefully if I get a chance to play him another time here, the level of my tennis will be different because, like in Rome, for example, was very close until the last shot. It was really quite even, I felt," Djokovic added.

"I'm planning to play in the Olympic Games" - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic also said he plans on participating in the Tokyo Olympics this year as long as fans are allowed in the stadiums. But in the event that crowds are banned altogether, the Serb would reconsider his decision.

"I'm planning to play in the Olympic Games for now,” said Djokovic. "As I heard, there's going to be some crowd, local crowd from Japan only. As I understand, 20 per cent, 30 per cent of the capacity. If they change something, if there's not going to be any crowd, then I'll consider if I want to go or not. Right now I am planning to go, and I'm very excited about that."

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