Tennis

What Novak Djokovic said about Rafael Nadal’s retirement ceremony

Novak Djokovic has shared his feelings about Rafael Nadal’s retirement ceremony, expressing disappointment and regret at not being able to attend. Djokovic, who is currently competing at the Australian Open in pursuit of his 25th Grand Slam title, reflected on the ceremony during a press interaction.

The legendary rivalry between Djokovic and Nadal has defined an era of tennis, making Nadal’s farewell at the 2024 Davis Cup in Málaga, Spain, a poignant moment. However, Djokovic missed the event due to scheduling conflicts, as he had planned to attend only if Spain advanced to the semi-finals.

“I don’t know the exact details of how they planned the ceremony,” Djokovic said. “The idea was for it to happen after the semis if Spain progressed. Murray and I were prepared to be there, but we couldn’t fit the quarter-finals into our schedules. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out that way. I feel bad that I wasn’t there.”

Djokovic acknowledged that Nadal’s low-key farewell might have been intentional. “I saw the video of the ceremony. Maybe Rafa didn’t want to make too much of a fuss about it so as not to disrupt other teams and matches. I don’t know, but I feel bad about missing it.”

Reflecting on the broader farewell arrangements, Djokovic voiced his opinion that they could have been more significant. “We were on the court together in Riyadh, which was a nice moment. I also saw him play at Roland Garros, and we’ve faced each other in major events like the Olympics. But the ceremony itself, if you ask me, wasn’t done properly.”

He speculated that uncertainty around Nadal’s future plans might have influenced the farewell’s scale. “Maybe Rafa wasn’t sure if he’d play again, and by the time it was clear, it might have been too late to organise something bigger. I don’t really know.”

Djokovic and Nadal have met an extraordinary 60 times on the court, with Djokovic winning 31 of those matches. Their rivalry includes battles across all four Grand Slam finals, where Nadal holds a slight 5-4 edge. Their last competitive match was at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where Djokovic defeated Nadal on the clay courts of Roland Garros.

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