French Open 2022 - 'The rivalry is unbelievable' - Legends react ahead of Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal

Updated 31/05/2022 at 11:18 GMT

"Their personality types are completely different, the game styles are different, that’s one of the other reasons that makes the rivalry even bigger, even better" - Tennis legends have had their say ahead of Tuesday evening's mouthwatering quarter-final encounter between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, a match fit a for a final.

Navratilova, Baghdatis and stars on Nadal v Djokovic

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will face off in the quarter-finals of the French Open on Tuesday evening, a titanic clash usually reserved for the finals.

Ahead of their mouth-watering encounter, legends of the tennis world have had their say on what promises to be one of the best matches of 2022 so far.

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA

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"They were finding places on the court that we didn't know existed last year, so I’m expecting more of that," said the 18-time Grand Slam champion.

"We will see how the crowd reacts but I think Rafa will be the favourite for the most part. I hope he recovered from his amazing fight against Felix Auger-Aliassime."

GUY FORGET

"Djokovic is like a volcano sometimes, it’s good to have a player who has emotions and breaks some rackets," said former French Open director Forget.

"When Rafa came to Paris the first time people hated his aggressive behaviour, and his pugnacity on the court, but in the end they saw he was the nicest man in the world and he always plays fair."

MARCOS BAGHDATIS

"Their personality types are completely different, the game styles are different, that’s one of the other reasons that makes the rivalry even bigger, even better," said Baghdatis, the 2006 Australian Open runner-up.

"I think also that a lot of people support Rafa and not Djokovic, but Djokovic loves it when he doesn’t get supported so it makes him even more hungry and wanting it more. They are two complete different people and it makes the rivalry more unbelievable."

TOMMY HAAS

"It’s always a mega match between these two, it’s a shame it’s so early. It’s an absolute stunner match that we are all looking forward to and it’s hard to say who the favourite is," said the four-time major semi-finalist.