Emotions ran high on Tuesday evening when we said goodbye to Rafael Nadal. However, two prominent colleagues were missing on site – Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
by Florian Goosmann
last edited: November 21, 2024, 3:56 p.m
© Getty Images
“Rafa” was already fighting back tears before the match started, and when it was all over, things didn’t get any easier. Nadal spoke to the audience for a long time (in Spanish), friends and relatives were of course also in the hall, and his ex-colleagues had their say via video massage.
Of course there are the many titles, but… “I would rather be remembered as a good person, from a small town on Mallorca. Who was lucky enough that his uncle was the tennis coach,” said Nadal. “As a kid who followed his dreams and worked as hard as he could. Many people work hard, but I’ve been lucky that life has given me the opportunity to experience incredible things through tennis.”
In the end, Nadal’s farewell was not a Hollywood finale; He clearly lost against Botic van de Zandschulp, and in the end the Spanish doubles team failed to get the Davis Cup team into the semi-finals in order to possibly give Nadal another appearance (in doubles?).
Where were Djokovic and Federer?
But many asked themselves: Why weren’t Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic there live? Nadal had previously explained that he had not heard anything from Federer, “he has a busy schedule”; Novak Djokovic had actually announced that he would pay his respects to Nadal at the Davis Cup finals, but he wasn’t there either.
And so something was missing. Especially since one had to think about Roger Federer’s farewell two years ago: At the Laver Cup, Federer invited his long-time competitor to London, even though Nadal was ill at the time and expecting his first child. Both played a final double (and lost), the photo of (briefly) holding hands is one of the most iconic images in tennis history.
Nadal explained that it was a different situation – he played at the Laver Cup (compared to Federer now at the Davis Cup). And there are certainly other opportunities to celebrate his farewell.
Why was it that neither Federer nor Djokovic traveled to Spain? We don’t know yet. Federer at least wrote a few loving lines to Nadal on Nadal beat him much more often than he beat him, legendary moments like the match half on clay, half on grass, or the game in South Africa are great memories. “We’ll talk when it’s all over,” promised Federer here – and said goodbye as a “fan”.
Will we see the two of them on the court together again, perhaps in show fights? This can actually be assumed – the abused bodies should take part.
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Roger Federer
Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic
