Rafael Nadal played what may potentially be the final singles match of his career late on Friday, perhaps fittingly, against the player with whom he formed the most formidable rivalry of the decade gone by, and perhaps the greatest in men’s tennis.
Nadal went down 2-6, 6-7 (5) to Novak Djokovic at the Six Kings exhibition tournament in Riyadh. The Spaniard had earlier announced that he will retire from professional tennis after playing for Spain at the Davis Cup finals next month.
Following their final clash, the duo shared a warm embrace at the net and some graceful pleasantries in stark opposition to the fiery battles they have had on tennis courts for nearly 20 years.
“Thank you Novak for everything, for all the moments we shared on court during our careers. It’s been an amazing rivalry,” Nadal said, per Reuters. “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.”
An emotional Djokovic responded by saying: “It’s been an incredible honour and an incredible pleasure to share the court with you. It’s been quite an emotional moment today, we’ve been playing a lot of games over so many years.”
Seminal rivalry
The match did not go into their official head-to-head record, which stands at 31-29 in favour of Djokovic, the longest in ATP history. An inconsequential year-end exhibition tournament may not have been the perfect stage to end their rivalry – but nothing a $1.5 million appearance fee and a prize purse that rises to $4.5 million can’t afford. But some exchanges and baseline rallies rolled back the years to identify their seminal rivalry.
With Roger Federer, the duo scripted a golden era of tennis, and while it is the Nadal-Federer rivalry of the noughties that has got the most affection and call-back value, it was the one between Nadal and Djokovic that left the most lasting impact on the sport.
The duo combined to win a total of 46 Grand Slam singles titles but it was the intense, instant classics where they beat each other for those titles that elevated the stature of the sport. The breathless side-to-side baseline exchanges, the tight calculations between offence and defence, and the all-surface excellence have created Youtube showstoppers for a generation.
It allowed them to play epics on the grand stage, like the 2013 French Open semifinal that Nadal won by a whisker, or the two-day long Wimbledon 2018 semifinal that Djokovic won by a whisker, or the 2012 Australian Open final that had so many twists and turns before Djokovic edged it, that it remains the longest Grand Slam final in tennis history.
“The rivalry has been incredible and very intense, so I hope that we’ll have a chance to maybe sit in the beach somewhere have a little drink, reflecting on life, talking about something else. Thank you for what you have done, you leave an incredible legacy and we really appreciate it,” Djokovic later added.
With retirement on the horizon, being a long time coming, Nadal has said he is ready for his final outing at the Davis Cup. “Emotionally, I’m sure I’ll be ready. Physically and in terms of tennis level there is a month left to prepare. If I don’t feel ready for the singles I’ll be the first one to say (it) and let’s see if I can help in some way,” he said in Riyadh.
Later on Friday, Jannik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz in three sets to win the tournament and take home the $6 million total payout. Both players, young stars that have swept the Slams in 2024 and hope to usher in a new generation with a rivalry on par with that of their greying counterparts, paid their tributes to Nadal too.
“Everybody wanted Rafa to win. Almost the entire stadium cheered for him, and it’s normal,” Alcaraz, Nadal’s compatriot and doubles partner at this year’s Paris Olympics, said, after beating him this week. “Rafa brought so many people into tennis, and I will try to do the same in the upcoming years. It was amazing for me to share the court with him again. At the same time, it made me sad to think this was one of his last matches,” he said.
