"Rafael Nadal and I have challenged each other too many times on the tennis court, one day we could play golf as friends" - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic reckons he and Rafael Nadal have faced each other too many times on the tennis court and that a change in scenery would do them both a world of good. With the 21-time Grand Slam champion's love for golf well known, the World No. 1 hopes the two can meet on the fairway in the future for a friendly match-up.

The Serb made easy work of Stan Wawrinka in the third round of the 2022 Italian Open, disposing of the Swiss 6-2, 6-2. With the victory, he became the first man to reach the quarterfinals in 16 consecutive seasons at a single Masters 1000 event.

Speaking at his press conference after the match, the 34-year-old touched on a variety of topics, including a potential clash with Nadal in the semifinals. While Djokovic has Felix Auger-Aliassime to take care of first, the Mallorcan needs to beat Denis Shapovalov and Casper Ruud to set up a 59th meeting with the Serb.

The rivalry between Nadal and Djokovic is one of the most hotly contested of all time in men's tennis and the Serb jokingly remarked that it is bound to be similarly fiesty if they play golf as well.

"I think [Rafael] Nadal and I have challenged [each other] too many times on the tennis court," he said. "One day we could play golf just as friends, but knowing ourselves it will end with both of us trying to win."

Regarding his match against Wawrinka, the 34-year-old had nothing but praise for the three-time Grand Slam champion. He proclaimed that it was great to see the Swiss back on the court once again, adding that the 37-year-old has been an important part of the sport for so long and deserves a successful comeback.

"First of all, it's great to see a big champion like Stan [Wawrinka] back, winning two matches after a long time," Djokovic said. "We all know how important he is to our sport in the last 10 years, winning three slams and being an established top-five, top-10 player for many years."

The 20-time Grand Slam champion was of the opinion that the Swiss' movement on the court was sluggish compared to his former self. But with a few more matches under his belt, the World No. 1 was certain that Wawrinka would be able to turn things around.

"Only he knows how difficult it was with all the surgeries and injuries he had to deal with. So of course you can see on the court that he's slower than he was when he was playing at his best," he said. "I'm sure with his team he's doing his best to get himself in the best shape, but it takes time. It's also match play versus practice sessions, completely different."

"I felt I played solid with a lot of discipline from the beginning" - Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic was proud of the discipline he showed against Stan Wawrinka

During the press conference, Novak Djokovic also commented on his own performance on the day. The Serb admitted he was rather proud of himself for being disciplined enough to exploit Wawrinka's poor movement.

"I felt I played solid with a lot of discipline from the beginning, made him move. On the other hand I wish that Stan comes back to the desired level, for sure. At the moment I think movement is different," he said. "You can see he's slower."