Novak Djokovic promises Rafael Nadal that he will be attending his farewell tournament with touching tribute to retiring icon
Novak Djokovic sent Rafael Nadal a touching tribute following the Spaniard's latest retirement announcement. The Serb thanked Nadal for pushing him to the limit with their historic rivalry and promised to attend his final tournament at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals.
On Thursday, the 22-time Grand Slam champion sent shock waves across the tennis world, announcing his impending retirement. Nadal, through an emotional video, broke the news to his fans that he will represent Spain one last time at the Davis Cup, and then hang up his racket.
As tributes and messages of love poured for the Mallorcan from all corners of the world, Djokovic joined the millions as well. Taking to Instagram, the 24-time Grand Slam, the only man in history to have more Grand Slam titles than Nadal, credited his colleague for inspiring millions of children to start playing the game with his "fighting spirit," among other attributes.
Reiterating once more that it is the rivalry with Nadal that inspired him the most as a player, Djokovic wished the former World No. 1 a good farewell before adding that he will make the trip to Malaga himself to watch it in person.
"Rafa, one post is not enough to express the respect I have for you and what you have done for our sport. You have inspired millions of children to start playing tennis and I think that's probably greatest achievement anyone can wish for. Your tenacity, dedication, fighting spirit is going to be taught for decades. Your legacy will live forever. Only you know what you had to endure to become icon of tennis and sport in general," Djokovic said.
"Thank you for pushing me to the very limit so many times in our rivalry that has impacted me the most as a player. Your passion for representing Spain has always been remarkable. I wish you best possible farewell in Malaga with Davis Cup team of Spain. I will be there in person to pay respect to your stellar career," he added.
In the post, Djokovic also included a few photos of him and Nadal together, chronicling their journeys together from 20-year-old's battling each other on the tennis court to veterans of the tour.
"I can't take anybody else but Rafael Nadal as my biggest rival" - Novak Djokovic
In an interview with TennisTV earlier this year, Novak Djokovic made it clear that he considered Rafael Nadal his "biggest rival," regardless of where the Spaniard was ranked or how healthy he was when taking the court.
The pair will end their career with 60 meetings on the ATP Tour, the most in history. Of those, 31 meetings went the way of the Serb, while the Spaniard prevailed in 29 over the years.
"I can't take anybody else but Nadal as my biggest rival. As long as Nadal is playing, as long as I'm playing Nadal is always my biggest rival," Novak Djokovic said.
"Regardless of the rankings or what's going on the tour. Just because of the history of our rivalry and everything... Nadal and myself go back a long time, so, definitely, he comes in front," he added.
Nadal and Djokovic's final meeting came at the Paris Olympics, where the latter won in straight sets in the second round on his way to the gold medal.