"We are rivals, that doesn't prevent us from being respectful"- When Novak Djokovic opened up about Rafael Nadal joining him at Paris Masters practice

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal practiced together before the 2019 Paris Masters. The Serb mentioned that their rivalry never stopped them from being 'respectful' towards each other.

Djokovic and Nadal have had a fierce rivalry, facing each other 60 times, with Djokovic leading 31-29. Despite their competitive matches, they've maintained mutual respect and a good relationship off the court, often praising each other’s achievements.

One such moment took place in Paris, where the two, both competing for the year-end World No. 1 spot at the time, shared a lighthearted practice session before starting their respective campaigns.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion later spoke to the media and said:

"I enjoyed it, to be honest. It was great. It was a lot of fun. It was very intense and competitive, as you can imagine, obviously, but in a very respectful way."

"We played a couple of days before that, an exhibition charity match in Kazakhstan. Also, we got to spend some time together. And obviously we are rivals but that doesn't prevent us from being respectful and treating each other in the right way and our teams as well," he added.