Novak Djokovic promised to attend Rafael Nadal's last match at the 2024 Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga, Spain.
The two legends of the sport shared the court more times than any other duo in the history of the ATP Tour. Djokovic and Nadal faced each other 60 times, with only very little between them, as the Serbian player won the H2H 31-29.
Only one duo in tennis history has played more matches: Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. On the ATP Tour, the rivalry between Djokovic and Roger Federer came closest, with 50 matches between the two, and the one between Federer and Nadal is third, with 40 matches.
These three shared the court an incredible 150 times, and it's not surprising that they want to see each other leave the sport. Both Nadal and Djokovic were present in London for Federer's retirement at the 2022 Laver Cup.
Now, Djokovic and Federer are both expected to be present in Malaga to witness Nadal's retirement, and the Serbian legend already confirmed that he would travel to Spain to see his rival say goodbye to the sport.
After Nadal announced his retirement from tennis, Djokovic didn't take long to share a touching message to his rival, sharing his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter).
"Rafa, one post is not enough to express the respect I have for you and what you have done for our sport. You have inspired millions of children to start playing tennis and I think that’s probably greatest achievement anyone can wish for."
"Your tenacity, dedication, fighting spirit is going to be taught for decades. Your legacy will live forever. Only you know what you had to endure to become icon of tennis and sport in general."
The Serbian player knows that the rivalry with Nadal is one of the reasons many now consider him the greatest tennis player of all time, as the two pushed each other to incredible heights to surpass Federer's 20 Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic is thankful for that rivalry, saying it impacted him 'the most' as a tennis player. The 37-year-old also recognized his rival's passion for representing his country, something he can relate to, as he loves representing Serbia.
"Thank you for pushing me to the very limit so many times in our rivalry that has impacted me the most as a player. Your passion for representing Spain has always been remarkable."
Unfortunately for Djokovic, he won't get to represent his country at the 2024 Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga this year, but he will be there to witness his rival retire from the sport.
In his post, Djokovic confirmed that he plans to travel to Malaga and attend Spain's ties at the event held between November 19th to 24th to pay respect to Nadal's tennis career in person.
"I wish you best possible farewell in Malaga with Davis Cup team of Spain. I will be there in person to pay respect to your stellar career."
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