Novak Djokovic sends emotional message to Rafael Nadal on Spaniard's retirement from tennis: "Thank you for making me the player that I am"
Novak Djokovic sent an emotional message for his rival Rafael Nadal on the latter's retirement. The Spaniard bid farewell to tennis, with his last match coming in Spain's Davis Cup quarterfinal against Netherlands.
The last couple of years were difficult for the 22-time Grand Slam champion with injuries affecting his form and participation in tournaments. This season, he played 20 singles matches, winning 12 of them, with his best performance being a run to the final at the Nordea Open in Sweden.
At the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, the Spaniard faced Botic van de Zandschulp and lost 4-6, 4-6. Spain eventually lost the tie 1-2 to the Dutch after Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers lost the decisive doubles fixture to Van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof.
The Davis Cup recently shared a video where Novak Djokovic sent an emotional message to Rafael Nadal on his farewell from tennis. The Serb congratulated his rival on his illustrious career and said that he would miss the things he did in the locker room, including his warmups, jumps and sprints.
Djokovic stated that while the Spaniard's retirement was a sad day for tennis and sport, he hoped that people would celebrate his career.
"Rafa. First of all, congratulations on your amazing career. Your family, your team, yourself should be extremely proud of everything that you have achieved throughout your career that lasted for more than 20 years. In the tennis locker room, we will miss your warmups, your sprints, your jumps, your incredibly competitive parchis, the games that you had with your team before your matches," Djokovic said.
"We had a lot of fun times, sharing the locker room and, you know, I just hope that today, even though it is a sad day for tennis, even though it is a sad day for Spain and sport in general, that you are retiring, at the same time I hope that everyone will celebrate your career because there is so much to embrace, so much to celebrate," he added.
Djokovic also spoke in detail of the mark Nadal will leave on tennis pointing out the Spaniard being an inspiration to millions, his on-court behavior and the respect he had for the sport and his opponents.
"I think, more importantly, and you would agree with this, is the mark that you left behind in terms of the connection with the people, in terms of how you inspired millions of children around the world to grab a tennis racket. How you conveyed your passion and love for the game, how you carried yourself on the court. How you showed respect to your opponents, to the entire tennis ecosystem throughout the course of your entire career," the Serb said.
"Your tenacity, your fighting spirit, the energy that you brought every single time, the strength, the power, is something that will be studied and is something that will be transferred to many, many generations that are coming up and aspiring to be like you as a person and as a great tennis champion," he added.
Djokovic also said that he was honored to be called Nadal's rival and thanked him for making him the player he is.
"I've been very honored and thrilled to be called your rival over the last, almost 20 years, we've played more than 60 matches. I have learned so much in our encounters and thank you very much for also making me the player that I am and that I was over the last 20 years," the Serb said.
"The tennis world and the sports world will miss the incredible energy that you brought on the court" - Novak Djokovic to Rafael Nadal
Speaking further in his message, Djokovic also said that the sporting world would miss the incredible energy that Nadal brings to the court. The Serb also called the Spaniard his friend and wished him the best with his family and his endeavors, stating:
"The tennis world and the sports world will miss the incredible energy that you brought on the court. My friend, I wish you the very best of luck with your charity foundation, with your family, with your Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy that continues to thrive, that continues to spread around the world where you will be able to spread the experiences and the knowledge and the passion and love you have for the game to the younger generation. Thank you very much and good luck my friend.
Nadal and Djokovic forged the most prolific rivalry in men's tennis in terms of number of matches played. The first meeting between the two took place in the quarterfinals of the 2006 French Open, with the Spaniard advancing after the Serb was forced to retire due to an injury.
The two tennis greats have locked horns on 60 occasions, with Djokovic leading 31-29 in their head-to-head. They faced off in finals at each of the four Grand Slams, with Nadal winning five of them while the Serb triumphed in four.
The Serb beat the Spaniard on both occasions they locked horns in the Australian Open final, including their thrilling encounter in 2012. Nadal beat Djokovic three times when they met in a French Open final.
The Serb came out on top on the only time the two faced one another in a Wimbledon title clash. Nadal won two US Open finals against Djokovic in 2010 and 2013, while the latter triumphed in the 2011 final in New York.
The last competitive meeting between the two came in the second round of the men's singles event at the Paris Olympics, in which Djokovic won 6-1, 6-4 and eventually went on to win the gold after defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the final. More recently, they locked horns in the third-place match at the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, with the Serb winning 6-2, 7-6(5).