Novak Djokovic urged his longtime rival, Rafael Nadal, to delay his deliberate retirement after defeating the Spaniard on Saturday in what’s prone to be the ultimate chapter of their storied rivalry.
“Don’t depart tennis, man,” Djokovic stated in an on-court interview after beating Nadal in straight units 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) on the “Six Kings Slam” exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
Nadal, 38, introduced on 10 October that he would retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga subsequent month.
Organisers of the Saudi occasion billed Saturday’s match as presumably Nadal’s final singles contest as knowledgeable.
Nadal stated on Thursday he was uncertain whether or not he can be match sufficient to play singles in Malaga.
Djokovic and Nadal — two of the game’s famed “Large Three” alongside Roger Federer — had confronted one another 60 instances on the primary tour previous to Saturday’s exhibition match, with Djokovic holding a slender 31-29 lead.
Their final encounter occurred throughout the Paris Olympics on the identical Roland Garros courts the place Nadal received 14 French Open titles, though Djokovic triumphed simply 6-1, 6-4.
Djokovic, 37, stated on Saturday that the rivalry had been “very intense” and advised Nadal he hoped they may in the future “sit on a seashore someplace” and have a drink collectively.
Nadal, who was offered with a golden tennis racket after the match, thanked Djokovic for the “wonderful rivalry” and “for all of the moments we shared on court docket.”
After dropping to Carlos Alcaraz in straight units throughout his first match on the Saudi exhibition on Thursday, Nadal acknowledged that his health degree was nicely beneath that of the tour’s high gamers.
French Open and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz was set to tackle Australian Open and US Open winner Jannik Sinner within the “Six Kings Slam” remaining in a while Saturday.
Saudi Arabia’s foray into tennis gained momentum final 12 months with its first ATP Tour occasion — the Subsequent Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah — and exhibition matches that includes Djokovic in opposition to Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka in opposition to Ons Jabeur.
The Ladies’s Tennis Affiliation introduced in April that Riyadh would host the following three editions of the Tour Finals, that includes the highest eight singles gamers and doubles groups.
The 2024 version will happen from 2-9 November.