Novak Djokovic criticizes Davis Cup management for not conducting Rafael Nadal’s retirement ceremony ‘properly’
Novak Djokovic regrets missing Rafael Nadal's farewell ceremony and expresses disappointment over poor conduction of the ceremony.
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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (via X)
Novak Djokovic was initially supposed to be present at Rafael Nadal’s farewell. However Spain’s defeat to Netherlands in the Davis Cup quarter-finals caught everyone by surprise, including the organisers in Malaga.
The Spaniard’s retirement came after a long and illustrious career with 22 Grand Slam titles. It’s been talked a lot about how the farewell ceremony of Nadal wasn’t worthy of one of the greatest players of all time, and Djokovic agreed that it could’ve been done better.
I don’t know the exact details as to how they envisioned the ceremony, but I know that the plan was to do it after the semis, if Spain were to go through. Murray and I planned to be there, we couldn’t fit the quarter-finals in our schedule, but we were a sure thing for the semis.
Novak Djokovic via Tennis Majors
Following a rather low-key retirement ceremony with a video tribute and a heartfelt speech, Rafael Nadal expressed his gratitude for his career and his intention to remain involved in tennis as an ambassador. In his role as an ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation, Nadal first attended the Next Gen ATP Finals at Jeddah.
Novak Djokovic has his say on Rafa Nadal's retirement ceremony 😢 pic.twitter.com/l1C7LzLmql
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 14, 2025
Novak Djokovic also remarked that he’s glad that he got to share the court with Nadal in the Spaniard’s last year on Tour. They were together on the court in Riyadh for the 6 Kings Slam which Djokovic described as a nice moment. He saw him play at Roland-Garros and they played each other at the Olympics wherein Djokovic defeated Nadal in the second round.
Novak Djokovic’s 2025 season
With the retirement of his ‘Big 4’ rivals- Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal- Novak Djokovic is the last of the quadrant to remain in the game. Djokovic commenced his 2025 season at the Brisbane International. His campaign suffered a setback with an unexpected quarterfinal defeat against 293rd ranked Reilly Opelka.
In November 2024 Djokovic announced the hiring of Andy Murray, who also retired that year, as his new coach ahead of the 2025 season. This partnership gained a lot of traction in the sporting world. While his coach was away for a ski trip during the Brisbane International, the Scot has joined him at Melbourne.
I saw the video (of the ceremony)… I don’t know if Rafa maybe didn’t want to make too much of a fuss about it in order not to bother other teams, matches… I don’t know, to be honest, but I feel bad that I wasn’t there…The ceremony, if you want my opinion, wasn’t done properly. Maybe Rafa himself wasn’t sure whether he’ll play or not, if he can play some more, and then maybe it was too late to do something bigger. I don’t know, really, maybe…
Novak Djokovic added
The Serbian, who has a record 10 titles in this Grand Slam, began his Australian Open 2025 campaign with a hard-fought victory over 19-year-old American Nishesh Basavareddy. Despite dropping the first set, Djokovic rallied to win in four sets.
Novak Djokovic will next play Portuguese Jaime Faria in the second round of the Australian Open 2025. This match is scheduled to take place on January at the Rod Laver Arena. Djokovic will be eyeing not only for his 100th career title but also an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title if he wins this tournament.
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Anubhav Bajpeyee
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