Last week, Rafael Nadal beat Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. Rafa would go on to win the tournament, but what stood out at the event was Djokovic's return to form.
For the first time in over a year, Djokovic resembled the player we've seen win 12 Grand Slam titles. He might not be fully back to top form, but it was encouraging to see him compete like he did, after numerous early-round exits in 2018.
It was also good to see Djokovic and Nadal engaged in battle on clay once again. Was it a sign of things to come in Roland Garros? We can only hope. Their rivalry has produced a number of classic, hard-fought matches in the past, and in a very sporting manner. There's certainly no bad blood between the two tennis legends—which we were reminded of on Saturday, when Djokovic tweeted an image of him and Rafa, with a caption asking for a nickname of the dynamic duo:
