Joshua Zitser
Oct 12, 2020
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Novak Djokovic has been called out for comments made about his rivalry with Rafael Nadal.
A number of women tennis players have now condemned Djokovic for his choice of words.
Speaking ahead of the French Open final on Sunday, Djokovic said: “I've played [Rafa] more than I have played any other player in my professional career.
Our head-to-head is the biggest head-to-head ever in the history of the sport... he's definitely my greatest rival."
The match marked the 56th time that Djokovic and Nadal had played each other.
Their rivalry is considered to be one of the greatest in tennis history but falls short of the record number of head-to-heads that have taken place in women's tennis.
Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert played each other 80 times.
Evert, in response to the erasure, responded on Twitter.
She wrote; “Well, true… in men’s tennis…”
Evert added: “When will men think before they tweet powerful statements once again overlooking women?"
Billie Jean King, an American tennis champion who won a staggering 39 Grand Slam titles, also challenged Djokovic on his comments.
One user responded that Andy Murray would have corrected him. This refers to numerous ‘feminist’ remarks Murray has made calling out casual sexism in sport.
Navratilova agreed.
Djokovic ended up losing to Nadal in the final at Roland Garros. Some might call that karma.
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