Different fanbases love pitting Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic against each other to prove how their favorite player is better. And Nadal is again in the middle of a storm in the tennis world courtesy a picture of his from the Laureus World Sports Award ceremony in Madrid that has gone viral. Recently, the Spaniard’s expression during Djokovic’s Laureus Award acceptance speech has got the tennis community to believe that he remains ‘jealous’ of the latter.
Novak Djokovic was named the 2024 Laureus World Sportsman of the Year on Monday. After winning the honor for a record-tying fifth time in his career, the Serbian dished out a heartfelt message. During the speech, the camera was panned on other tennis stars such as Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal.
While Alcaraz seemed to be in awe of Djoko, Nadal had a comparitively blunt reaction. According to fans on social media, the 22-time Grand Slam winner failed to hide his jealousy.
While a group of people were convinced that Rafa felt threatened by Novak winning his 5th Laureus Award, another set of tennis enthusiasts backed Nadal to squash such illogical claims. While some fans stated that the ‘King of Clay’ was merely paying attention to what his rival was saying, others on different social media platforms pointed out how Nadal has been expressionless for the entirety of his career.
With the Rafael Nadal Foundation receiving the Laureus Sport for Good Award, there is no reason why the former World No.1 would be ‘jealous’ of Djokovic as such. Instead, on numerous occasions over his career, Nadal has expressed his admiration for Djokovic.
Has Rafael Nadal ever won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award?
Having had multiple successful seasons, Rafael Nadal has received numerous trophies at the Laureus World Sports Awards function. Out of 7 nominations, the Mallorca native won the Laureus Sportsman of the Year two times – in 2011 and 2021.
Rafael Nadal was first honored at this function back in 2006 when he was recognized for a terrific 2005 season as the Breakthrough of the Year. Finally, in 2014, the tennis legend also received the Comeback of the Year award for the spectacular 2013 season he had after missing a majority of the tournaments in 2012 due to injuries.
In 2021, Nadal won the award after winning a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam at the French Open 2020, which was also his 13th win at Roland Garros.
