Nadal represented Spain in the World Cup of men’s tennis this week. His nation was drawn to face the Dutch team in the quarter-final. If they advanced, they would have played their semi-final on Friday and the championship match on Sunday.
Plenty of sporting greats were hoping to attend the former world No. 1’s last dance. Tournament director Feliciano Lopez revealed that Djokovic and Andy Murray were among those asking to come.
But none of them turned up for Spain’s first tie on Tuesday under the assumption that the team would still be in the tournament over the weekend. When they did lose – immediately sending Nadal into retirement – it meant no high-profile guests were there for his farewell ceremony.
Nadal’s old Big Four rivals did send video messages to be played during the presentation. The Davis Cup later posted their full tributes on social media, including Djokovic’s video after he ended up missing the event.
The retiring Spaniard was clearly touched by his rival’s words, sharing the video to his Instagram story. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Nadal wrote to his old foe, adding a heart emoji.
In the video, Djokovic said: “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 more than 20 years.
“In the tennis locker room we will miss your warm-ups, your sprints, your jumps, your incredibly competitive parchis – the games that you had with tour team before your matches.
“We had a lot of fun times sharing the locker room. I just hope that today, even though it is a sad day for tennis, it is a sad day for Spain and sport in general that you are retiring.
“But at the same time, I hope that everyone will celebrate your career because there is so much to embrace, so much to celebrate.”
Djokovic also commended the 22-time Grand Slam champion for his passion. He continued: “I think more importantly, 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’ve shown respect to your opponents, to the entire tennis ecosystem throughout the course of your entire career.”
After explaining Nadal’s legacy, he turned to their own rivalry. “I’ve been very honoured and thrilled to be called your rival,” he added.
“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.”
