Novak Djokovic missed Rafael Nadal’s emotional farewell at the Davis Cup Finals.
However, Djokovic skipped Spain’s match against the Netherlands on Tuesday and planned to go only at the weekend, hoping that Spain would advance far enough for him to see Nadal retire.
This week, Nadal represented Spain at the World Cup of men’s tennis. His country was assigned to meet the Dutch team in the quarterfinals. If they had advanced, they would have played the semi-finals on Friday and the title game on Sunday.
Many athletic greats hoped to attend the former world number one’s final dance. Tournament director Feliciano Lopez claimed that Djokovic and Andy Murray were among those who requested to attend.
But none of them showed up for Spain’s opening match on Tuesday, believing that the team would still be in the tournament over the weekend. When they lost, Nadal retired immediately, and no high-profile guests attended his farewell ceremony.
Nadal’s former Big Four adversaries delivered video greetings to be played at the ceremony. The Davis Cup later shared their entire tributes on social media, including Djokovic’s video after he missed the occasion.
The retiring Spaniard was evidently moved by his rival’s words, as he posted the footage on his Instagram story. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Nadal wrote to his former opponent, along with a heart emoji.
In the footage, Djokovic says, “Rafa.” First and foremost, congratulations on your wonderful career. Your family, team, and you should all be immensely proud of everything you’ve accomplished over the course of your more than 20-year career.
“In the tennis locker room, we will miss your warm-ups, sprints, hops, and really competitive parchis – the games you played with the tour team before your matches.
“We had a lot of fun together in the locker room. I only hope that your retirement today, as sad as it is for tennis, is also sad for Spain and sport in general.
“But at the same time, I hope that everyone will celebrate your career because there is so much to embrace, so much to celebrate.”
Djokovic also praised the 22-time Grand Slam champion for his passion, saying, “I think more importantly, you would agree with this, is the mark that you left behind in terms of the connection with the people, in terms of how you inspired millions of children around the world to pick up a tennis racket.”
“How you conveyed your passion and love for the game, how you carried yourself on the court, how you’ve shown respect to your opponents, to the entire tennis ecosystem throughout the course of your entire career.”
After discussing Nadal’s legacy, he proceeded to their personal rivalry. “I’ve been very honoured and thrilled to be called your rival,” he further stated.
“In the last nearly 20 years, we’ve played over 60 matches. I’ve learnt so much from our interactions, and I want to thank you for helping shape me into the player I am and have been for the past 20 years.”
