Rafael Nadal thanked Novak Djokovic for making him play beyond his limits as the two great rivals faced off for the final time on Saturday at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before the Spaniard is set to end his spectacular career.
Nadal, who will be retiring following next month’s Davis Cup Finals, was beaten 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) by Djokovic in the third-place playoff match.
“Thank you Novak 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.
Nadal faced Djokovic in 60 matches — the most in men’s tennis — having triumphed 29 times to the Serb’s 31. Djokovic also thanked Nadal for everything he has done for tennis and the legacy he is leaving in the sport.
“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,” 24-time grand slam champion Djokovic said.
“The rivalry has been incredible and very intense, so I hope that we’ll have a chance to maybe sit on the beach somewhere and 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 wrote on social media: “The last dance was an epic one. And of course emotional. I’ll cherish our rivalry forever, @rafaelnadal. Tennis will miss you.”
Nadal will be part of the Spanish team at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga from November 19-24.
Sinner’s hope
The rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the world’s two highest-ranked players, brings out the best in both, Sinner said on Saturday after beating Alcaraz in the final. Sinner, who won 6-7 (7-5), 6-3 6-3 to bag the $6 million title, said he hoped for a long rivalry with Alcaraz.
“I wake up in the morning trying to understand the ways to beat him. This kind of rivalries, this kind of players, they push us always to our 100 percent,” world No.1 Sinner said in a post-match interview. “Hopefully this rivalry will last as long as possible. But there are so many other great players who can
jump in ... let’s see what’s coming in the future,” the 23-year-old said.
Italy’s Sinner and Spain’s Alcaraz have won two grand slams each this year, with Alcaraz beating Sinner in closely fought clashes at the French Open semi-finals and the China Open final.
The off-the-court friends have played each other 10 times on the ATP tour, with 21-year-old Alcaraz winning six matches, including the last three. “I will do everything so that this rivalry gets better and better ... I am happy to share the court with him,” four-times Grand Slam winner Alcaraz said.
“Until now, every match was very, very good, but we will always hope this rivalry will last as long as possible,” Sinner said. “I will try to do my best every day ... to hopefully make this rivalry better and better,” Alcaraz added.
Alcaraz defeated Nadal and Sinner topped Djokovic in the previous round of the exhibition event that awards money but not ATP ranking points in Saudi Arabia’s latest foray into tennis.
