"You can say it's unfair but not crazy unfair" - When Rafael Nadal responded to Novak Djokovic's team saying he had better schedule at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic's coaching team once pointed out that Rafael Nadal had one more day of rest than the Serb ahead of a match between them, and the Spaniard responded to that too. The incident occurred during the 2012 Australian Open.

Nadal entered the Melbourne Major that year seeded second, and booked his place in the title clash by beating Roger Federer in the semis. The following day, Novak Djokovic sealed his spot in the final by triumphing over Andy Murray in five sets.

Nadal was asked before the final what he thought about the Serb's coach claiming that the Spaniard had one more day of rest compared to the latter. He replied that he went through a similar situation in 2009, where he had one fewer day than Roger Federer but was able to recover for the final.

The Spaniard added that while him having one more rest day than Djokovic was unfair, it wasn't "crazy unfair."

"Well, that's what it is. 2009 I played longer than him in the semifinals. I played more than five hours at very high intensity, too. I had only one day and Federer had two, no? I was recovered for the final, so I think you can say it's unfair, yes, but not crazy unfair," Nadal said.

The Spaniard went on to say that what was "really unfair" was the US Open, where there was no day off between the semifinals and the final.

"Really unfair is the US Open when you don't have day off between semifinals and final. That's really unfair. If the match of yesterday happened in the US Open and the other semifinal is in straight sets, you are in big trouble for the finals. Having one day off, I believe you are not in big trouble," Nadal said.

The 2012 Australian final went on to become one of the greatest tennis matches of all time, with Djokovic needing 5 hours and 53 minutes to beat his rival.

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Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have faced each other in two Australian Open finals

The two greats of tennis after the 2019 Australian Open final

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have faced each other in two Australian Open finals, with the latter winning both.

The 2012 title clash was the first final at the Melbourne Major between the two, but their second did not come before 2019. The Spaniard entered that match without dropping a set throughout the tournament. However, Djokovic beat him in straight sets to win his seventh title at the Australian Open.

All in all, the two have locked horns in nine Grand Slam finals. Nadal has won five of those - three at the French Open and two at the US Open.