RIYADH – Novak Djokovic implored long-time adversary Rafael Nadal to put off his planned retirement after defeating the Spaniard on Oct 19 in what was likely to be the final chapter of their “amazing rivalry”.
“Don’t leave tennis, man,” Djokovic said in an on-court interview after beating Nadal in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) at the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia.
He added that their battles over the years had been “very intense” and told Nadal he hoped they could one day “sit on a beach somewhere” and have a drink.
Nadal, 38, announced on Oct 10 that he would retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga in November.
Organisers of the Saudi event billed the Oct 19 match as perhaps Nadal’s last singles contest as a professional.
Nadal said on Oct 17 he was unsure whether he would be fit enough to play singles in Malaga.
Djokovic and Nadal – two of the sport’s famed “Big Three”, along with Roger Federer – had faced each other 60 times on the main ATP Tour before the Oct 19 exhibition match, with Djokovic holding a narrow 31-29 edge.
Their last encounter came during the Paris Olympics on the same Roland Garros courts where Nadal won 14 French Open titles, though Djokovic triumphed easily 6-1, 6-4.
Djokovic has racked up 24 Grand Slam titles in his career, two more than Nadal.
The match in Riyadh was mostly one-sided, with Nadal spraying errors and Djokovic wrapping up the first set in just 31 minutes.
Feeding off the support of the partisan crowd, who openly cheered Djokovic’s double-faults, Nadal rallied to push the second set to a tiebreak, reeling off winners and even treating fans to one last iconic fist pump before succumbing to Djokovic.
“It’s great to see him still fighting even though he’s had injuries and struggles,” Djokovic, 37, told a post-match press conference.
It was “a very emotional day, special day” because 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.”
After being presented with a golden tennis racket, Nadal in turn thanked Djokovic for the “amazing rivalry” and “for all the moments that we shared on court”.
“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,” Nadal added.
In the exhibition final on the same day, Australian Open and US Open winner Jannik Sinner outlasted French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, avenging his loss in Beijing earlier in October.
“I wake up in the morning trying to understand the ways how to beat him,” Sinner said in an on-court interview after winning the match 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 6-3, adding that he hoped their rivalry would last “as long as possible”.
Alcaraz has a 6-4 edge in head-to-head ATP Tour contests.
He said: “I will do everything so that this rivalry gets better and better… I am happy to share the court with him.”
Saudi Arabia’s push into tennis took off in 2023 with its first ATP Tour event – the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah – and exhibition matches pitting Djokovic against Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka against Ons Jabeur.
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced in April that Riyadh would host the next three editions of the Tour Finals, featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams. The 2024 showpiece will be staged from Nov 2 to 9.
Earlier in 2024, Nadal was named ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation.
The tennis world’s embrace of Saudi Arabia has drawn some criticism, notably from greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who have voiced concern about the kingdom’s record of human rights abuses.
Djokovic said he did not know if he, like Nadal, would spend more time in Saudi Arabia post-retirement, but said he was focusing on what he described as the positives there.
“There’s always going to be criticism. You can always focus on good things or bad things,” he said.
“You know, it just depends on the perspective, like anything in life.” AFP, REUTERS
