Beaten Tuesday in the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros by Rafael Nadal, defending champion Novak Djokovic admitted that the Spaniard had been "the best" and that he had notably managed to "raise his tennis to another level" at the key moments.

"He started very well while I didn't," said the Serb who found himself trailing 6-2, 3-0 with a double break.

"There, I managed to regain the upper hand, I came back, I won the second set and I said to myself 'that's it, I'm back in the game'.

But then he replayed two or three fantastic games at the start of the third set.

He was able to take his tennis to another level especially at the start of the sets, apart from the fourth,” Djokovic pointed out.

Regrets and many compliments

For his part, he regretted not having been able to seize the chances he had.

“I served for the set in the fourth set, got two set points.

It was played with one or two shots that could have taken me to the fifth set.

And there, it could have worked in favor of either of us, ”analyzed the Serb.

“But again he demonstrated why he was a huge champion.

Staying strong mentally and finishing the game the way he did… My congratulations to him and his team.

He definitely deserves this victory,” added the world number 1.

No glaring foot pain Tuesday night

Nadal, who has suffered for years from chronic and incurable pain (Muller-Weiss syndrome), is under the constant threat of pain in his left foot which can become unbearable at any time, like in Rome three weeks ago.

But Djokovic assures that on Tuesday he "saw no problem" on that side with his opponent.

"It's not the first time he's managed to come back to 100% physically just a few days after suffering pain and barely managing to leave the court on his feet.

He's done it several times in his career so I'm not surprised,” commented the Serb.

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  • Tennis

  • Roland Garros 2022

  • Rafael Nadal

  • Novak Djokovic

  • Sport