RIYADH: Novak Djokovic requested long-time adversary Rafael Nadal to defer his planned retirement from the game as the duo faced each other in what was likely to be the final chapter of their “amazing rivalry” on the court through the years.
“Don’t leave tennis, man,” said Djokovic in an on-court interview after beating Nadal in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at the “Six Kings Slam” exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
He added that their battles over the years had been “very intense” and told Nadal he hoped they could one day “sit on a beach somewhere” and have a drink.
The Serbian player’s remarks follow Nadal’s October 10 announcement where he said that he would bid farewell to the game after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month.
Organisers of the Saudi event billed Saturday’s match as perhaps Nadal’s last singles contest as a professional.
Earlier, the Spanish player on Thursday said that he was unsure whether he would be fit enough to play singles in Malaga.
Djokovic and Nadal — two of the sport’s famed “Big Three” along with Roger Federer — had faced each other 60 times on the main tour prior to Saturday’s exhibition match, with Djokovic holding a narrow 31-29 edge.
Their last encounter came during the Paris Olympics on the same Roland Garros courts where Nadal won 14 French Open titles, though Djokovic triumphed easily 6-1, 6-4.
Djokovic has racked up 24 Grand Slam titles in his career, two more than Nadal.
Saturday’s match was mostly one-sided, with Nadal spraying errors and Djokovic wrapping up the first set in just 31 minutes.
Feeding off the support of the partisan crowd who openly cheered Djokovic’s double-faults, Nadal rallied to push the second set to a tie-break, reeling off winners and even treating fans to one last iconic fist pump before succumbing to Djokovic.
“It’s great to see him still fighting even though he’s had injuries and struggles,” Djokovic, 37, told a post-match press conference.
It was “a very emotional day, special day” because it was the “last time I play my biggest rival, Nadal,” he added.
“I’ve witnessed Andy Murray retiring this year, Roger [Federer] a few years ago as well. And now Rafa, you know. It’s tough in some way to see them go, because all of my career, basically, I’ve played with them,” he remarked.
After being presented with a golden tennis racket, Nadal in turn thanked Djokovic for the “amazing rivalry” and “for all the moments that we shared on court”.
“Thank you Novak [Djokovic] for everything for all the moments we shared on court during our careers. It’s been an amazing rivalry,” said Nadal, whose men’s record of winning 22 Grand Slam titles was broken by Djokovic.
“In a personal way, you helped me go over my limits during almost 15 years. Without that, I wouldn’t be the player I am today. Congratulations for all the titles and amazing career to you and your team. I wish you all the best of luck for the future,” he added.
