"This one is for you Nole" - Rafael Nadal congratulates Novak Djokovic on historic French Open title in Academy graduation speech
Rafael Nadal congratulated Novak Djokovic on winning the 2023 French Open in a speech delivered at the graduation ceremony of the Rafael Nadal Academy in Mallorca.
Nadal, who had to miss the 2023 French Open due to injury, was present to give a speech to his 2023 graduates, alongside French Open women's singles champion Iga Swiatek.
Before congratulating the Pole, he once again gave props to Djokovic. By winning the 2023 French Open, the Serb passed Nadal in number of Grand Slam titles, with 23.
After giving the speech, Nadal took to social media to send a message to Djokovic.
"And this one is for you Nole. Congrats Novak Djokovic for Sunday's achievement," Nadal wrote.
@RafaelNadal 
🏻 youtube.com/live/r9w-fPjeg…And this one is for you Nole. Congrats @DjokerNole for Sunday’s achievement. twitter.com/rnadalacademy/…
Nadal remains the record holder for most titles won in a single Grand Slam tournament with 14 French Open victories.
He and Djokovic met each other at Roland Garros 10 times out of their 59 head-to-head duels. The Spaniard was victorious in eight instances, most recently in the 2022 quarterfinals, with Nadal winning, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(4).
Nadal had to miss this year's edition of the tournament after failing to recover from the injury that forced him to withdraw from the Australian Open.
The 36-year-old said he will be out for the next "few months," meaning that he will also miss the 2023 Wimbledon. His appearance at the US Open is also doubtful.
Rafael Nadal drops out of top 100 for the first time in 20 years
Rafael Nadal received unpleasant news after the 2023 French Open, dropping out of the top 100 in the ATP rankings for the first time in 20 years.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion suffered a major drop in the rankings after losing 1000 points that he had won by winning the 2022 French Open.
The injury that forced him away from Roland Garros also caused him to lose his second-round match at the 2022 Australian Open, against Mackenzie McDonald.
Because of not playing at all after the Australian Open, he is now World No. 136, falling from the 15th position in the ATP rankings.
The Spaniard's recovery from hip muscle surgery will keep him out of competition for at least another couple of months, which could incur another drop in the rankings.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic regained the World No. 1 spot after winning the historic title at the 2023 French Open, overtaking Carlos Alcaraz in that position.