Novak Djokovic is full of praise for Rafa Nadal’s career

Novak Djokovic surpassed Rafa Nadal in the match for third and fourth place in the Six Kings Slamthe exhibition tournament held in Saudi Arabia. The Serbian was constant throughout the match and managed to put an end to a clash that in the final moments had a threat to come back from Nadal, almost forcing them to go to a third round.

The rivalry between Novak Djokovic y Rafa Nadal It goes beyond tennis, and its 60 previous matches have meant a lot to elite sport. Together on the court they have staged titanic battles that will be difficult to repeat by other tennis players, which is why the Serbian held a press conference at the Six Kings Slam to express the pride he feels in being a big part of the history of Nadal’s career.

The winner doesn’t matter

Nole wanted to emphasize the rivalry, not himself as the winner of the match: “It was not a match where the interest was in the winner, but in enjoy the moments of the last game we had between us. More than 60 games together, so it’s a different feeling on the court. “It’s always something special to play against him, but the closer it got to retirement, the more special each game was.”

“We have seen his fighting spirit once again as he has hit incredible winners and shown once again that he is Rafa Nadal, an icon and a tennis legend. “It has been an honor to share the court with him for the last time.”

An anecdote with Rafa

“We had a great time in Colombia in 2011, we went to play a game there for the first time. We spent quality time off-piste for the first time at a time when the rivalry was very tense. We talked about life, tennis and many things. The rivalry has been very intense for many years and it is difficult to coincide off the track. “No other competition in tennis has had as many matches as ours.”

Souvenir for the Big 4

Djokovic is the last survivor of the great golden era of tennis and showed that he will miss the historic confrontations with the greatest: “I will miss competing against Nadal. We’ve played on every big stage you can imagine. Our rivalry has been very strong, and if we put together Federer already Murray“We find that we have left a great legacy in tennis for the last 20 years.”