Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (left) and Spanish Spain’s Rafael Nadal pose after their third place match within the Six Kings Slam event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 19, 2024. — Reuters
RIYADH: Novak Djokovic on Saturday requested long-time adversary Rafael Nadal to defer his deliberate retirement from the sport because the duo confronted one another in what was more likely to be the ultimate chapter of their “amazing rivalry” on the courtroom by the years.
“Don’t leave tennis, man,” mentioned Djokovic in an on-court interview after beating Nadal in straight units 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) on the “Six Kings Slam” exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
He added that their battles through the years had been “very intense” and instructed Nadal he hoped they might in the future “sit on a beach somewhere” and have a drink.
The Serbian participant’s remarks observe Nadal’s October 10 announcement the place he mentioned that he would bid farewell to the sport after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga subsequent month.
Organisers of the Saudi occasion billed Saturday’s match as maybe Nadal’s final singles contest as an expert.
Earlier, the Spanish participant on Thursday mentioned that he was uncertain whether or not he could be match sufficient to play singles in Malaga.
Djokovic and Nadal — two of the game’s famed “Big Three” together with Roger Federer — had confronted one another 60 occasions on the primary tour previous to Saturday’s exhibition match, with Djokovic holding a slender 31-29 edge.
Their final encounter got here throughout the Paris Olympics on the identical Roland Garros courts the place Nadal gained 14 French Open titles, although Djokovic triumphed simply 6-1, 6-4.
Djokovic has racked up 24 Grand Slam titles in his profession, two greater than Nadal.
Saturday’s match was principally one-sided, with Nadal spraying errors and Djokovic wrapping up the primary set in simply 31 minutes.
Feeding off the help of the partisan crowd who overtly cheered Djokovic’s double-faults, Nadal rallied to push the second set to a tie-break, reeling off winners and even treating followers to 1 final iconic fist pump earlier than succumbing to Djokovic.
“It’s great to see him still fighting even though he’s had injuries and struggles,” Djokovic, 37, instructed a post-match press convention.
It was “a very emotional day, special day” as a result of it was the “last time I play my biggest rival, Nadal,” he added.
“I’ve witnessed Andy Murray retiring this year, Roger [Federer] a few years ago as well. And now Rafa, you know. It’s tough in some way to see them go, because all of my career, basically, I’ve played with them,” he remarked.
After being introduced with a golden tennis racket, Nadal in flip thanked Djokovic for the “amazing rivalry” and “for all the moments that we shared on court”.
“Thank you Novak [Djokovic] for everything for all the moments we shared on court during our careers. It’s been an amazing rivalry,” mentioned Nadal, whose males’s file of profitable 22 Grand Slam titles was damaged by Djokovic.
“In a personal way, you helped me go over my limits during almost 15 years. Without that, I wouldn’t be the player I am today. Congratulations for all the titles and amazing career to you and your team. I wish you all the best of luck for the future,” he added.
