Defeating Djokovic is no obsession for Nadal, Spaniard needs to win against Murray and Federer: Francisco Roig

Francisco Roig admitted his team has not set a definite plan for Rafael Nadal to defeat world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, but the 47-year-old Spaniard insisted that the more doable goal for the “King of Clay” is winning against the likes of Andy Murray and Roger Federer.

Roig, one of Nadal’s trusted men, talked about playing Djokovic in an interview with El Confidencial. Roig revealed that he knows the Serb is too much for Nadal, which brings them on the Mallorcan focusing more to defeat Murray and Federer.

“We are not worried about Djokovic. He is not an obsession [for us],” Roig said as translated by Tennis World USA. “We have to return to beat players that you can win or have lost to. I do not speak about Djokovic, but against Murray and Federer, we have to try to win as many matches as possible.”

The last time Nadal defeated Djokovic was the Spaniard’s last Grand Slam win, which was at the French Open back in 2014. In their last three meetings, Nadal was able to face Djokovic twice in the final round, but the competition was not close, with “Djoker” defeating the Spaniard in convincing straight sets. With Djokovic playing at such high level, Nadal has a little chance of winning against the Serb, especially at Grand Slam events.

Nadal is currently competing at the Rio Open, where he has a chance to win his first ATP title of the season after advancing into the semifinal round of the tournament. Meanwhile, Djokovic bids for a fifth title at the Dubai Tennis Championships in UAE next week against the likes of Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych and Aussie bad boy Nick Kyrgios.

Nadal and Djokovic could meet next month at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Indian Wells in California, which could also be Federer's first tournament back from a knee surgery.