For much of his career, Novak Djokovic has battled Rafael Nadal with their career pretty much overlapping since the start.
Djokovic has named Nadal his greatest rival more than once and they had some epic battles over the years on the ATP Tour. At Roland Garros, it was Nadal who dominated the matchup which is why Djokovic joked about not missing him this year.
This year will see him compete at Roland Garros alone and it's something he will need to get used to. Mats Wilander suggested that Nadal's absence hasn't disappointed anybody more than Djokovic and in a way it makes sense. It makes even more sense when you look at what he said about the retirement announcement.
When he announced that he's going to have the last season of career, you know, I felt part of me is leaving with him too, if you know what I mean.
Djokovic already had a chance to say goodbye to one legend when he watched Federer retire in London. He'll likely see Nadal retire before him and hearing the news of it and realizing that it's coming made him think about his own career. How long will he play and what might the future hold for him.
He did reassure the room that he isn't going to make any announcements like that but just hearing that made him emotional. Hes' never known tennis without Nadal and even not having Federer around took some time. It is truly going to be the end of an era.
Yeah, it made me wonder, you know, it made me think about my career and how long I'm going to play. So far I'm not going to make any announcement today, but just reflecting on it, you know, I felt also a little bit emotional about what he was saying.
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