French Open 2023: Novak Djokovic awaiting return of great rival Rafael Nadal – ‘We want to see a healthy Rafa’

Novak Djokovic hopes that his great rival Rafael Nadal – who he has described as “one of the greatest legends of tennis” – can return to full fitness soon.

Nadal is expected to be sidelined for five months following hip surgery after missing the chance to defend his French Open title.

In his absence, Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are the favourites to win Roland-Garros this year.

Djokovic is searching for his third French Open title, which would see him go one Grand Slam ahead of Nadal in the all-time singles titles record on 23.

Nadal, who turned 37 on Saturday, will also miss the final two Grand Slams of the year at Wimbledon and the US Open.

“I got one surgery in my career on the elbow, and I know how hard it is to get back.

“It’s just one of those things that you don’t want any athlete to go through. Sometimes I guess it’s necessary. For him it’s been several times now throughout his career.

“I don’t know what the severity of or the nature of his injury is, but, you know, if he got on a surgery table, it means there was no other solution.

“So, you know, I really hope that, yeah, his rehabilitation process can go well and that we can see him next season.

“I think that he’s so important for our game on and off the court, one of the greatest legends of tennis in the history of the game.

“We want to see healthy Rafa, no question about it, playing for what he has announced his last season. You know, hopefully he’s gonna be able to do that.”

Djokovic will take on Karen Khachanov as he makes a record 17th Roland-Garros quarter-final appearance.

While the Serb admitted he is “proud” of making another record, he insists his attention is on the match itself.

“I’m trying to stay mentally the course and of course not look too far,” he said.

“Obviously, the performance of today gives me a great deal of confidence about how I felt, about how I played. So, I’m looking forward to the next match.”