Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, his sister Maribel & tennis world send heartwarming messages to Fernando Verdasco after his retirement
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, his sister, Maribel Nadal and more, sent sweet messages to Fernando Verdasco after his retirement, he announced on February 14, 2025. His last match before wrapping up his tennis career was at the Qatar Open in the doubles match on February 19, where he paired with Novak Djokovic.
The two competed against Henry Patten and Harri Heliovaara but fell short of advancing to the semifinal round after being bested by their opponents, 7-5, 6-4.
Following this, Djokovic and Verdasco shared a warm hug, and the crowd burst into cheers. Showing a sweet gesture, the Serb signaled spectators to make even more noise as an ode to the Spaniard. Djokovic also shared a heartfelt message on his Instagram story that read:
"Felicidades guapo on an incredible career. Great competitor, great champion, great ambassador. An honor to share your final match, amigo. Take a bow, @ferverdasco."
Not just the Serb, Rafael Nadal also shared an image after Fernando's retirement. He shared a wholesome old picture of them and added an emoji showing respect on his Instagram story:
"🙌🏻"
Following him, Nadal's sister Maribel also reposted a picture of Rafael and Fernando from their Davis Cup win and wrote:
"What a great time!:
Along the same line, Denis Shapovalov also shared an Instagram story for the Spaniard and wrote:
"Wishing you the best @ferverdasco!"
Fernando Verdasco lauds Novak Djokovic in his retirement speech
In the press conference of the Qatar Open, after the doubles match where Fernando Verdasco and Novak Djokovic tasted defeat, the former gave a heartfelt retirement speech. He reflected on his emotions and revealed that he wasn't planning on announcing his retirement or even playing this last match, but he did so after listening to Novak.
Appreciating the Serb and opening up about his retirement, the three-time Davis Cup winner said, as quoted by ATP:
"The emotions are very big, after being for a year and a half out of competition. I was not even thinking of making an official announcement or playing for one last time until I spoke with him [Djokovic]. Now I'm so happy to make it possible here in Doha. I've been living here for 10 years now, so this feels like my house, like my home, and there is no better way to retire in my home, with all my family, with my friends, and with someone like Novak Djokovic who, obviously, in the matter of numbers, is the best player in history of tennis and one of the best athletes in history as well," said Fernando Verdasco.
Following this, Verdasco also revealed the biggest memory of his life, saying:
"The biggest [memory] is the Davis Cup for my country, which I won three times. Of these three, the most special one is the one in Argentina, when I won the fourth point of the finals against Acasuso, and I gave my country the victory.”
The Qatar Open was Novak Djokovic's first match after his Australian Open walkover, citing an injury in the tournament's semifinal against Alexander Zverev.