Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal won't retire any time soon, according to Andrey Rublev, who believes they will keep pushing in their Grand Slam race.
This is hardly a shocking opinion because these players have confirmed that it's their intention. The case of Nadal is far more complicated as we don't know what will happen once he finally returns.
He did say that he would likely continue playing beyond his initial 2024 prognosis if things went well. Novak Djokovic is still one of the best players in the world, so for him, it's rather obvious that he'll keep playing.
There is only one reason, and that's legacy, as they both hope to finish with as many Grand Slams as possible.
I’m not surprised because I think he and Novak, those kind of players who are playing to leave a mark in the history of tennis; while Novak is still playing I think Rafa will try until the end to play and try to win slams. And the same goes for Novak. If Rafa keeps playing and winning when he comes back, for sure Novak will keep playing until the end. They are playing for different things.
Rublev likely isn't thrilled with that as he'd like to get his hands on one of those trophies as well, but as a competitor, he'll certainly enjoy the competition. Being able to play against idol Nadal a few more times would also be really great memories for the Russian.
Tennis owes a lot to the legendary duo, and things will be different without them. We've missed Roger Federer dearly since he retired, and that's only one-third of the Big Three.
Djokovic and Nadal are the two that get all of the spotlight after his retirement, but that won't be the case when they go. Let's hope Rublev is right, and we see these two play in the coming few years.
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