Nadal and his “special relationship” with Djokovic

Paul Rouget, Media365: published on Wednesday October 16, 2024 at 1:59 pm

Reunited with Novak Djokovic for the “Six Kings Slam“, the rich Saudi showcase tournament, the retired future Rafael Nadal spoke about his “special relationship” with the Serb, who found it in the final.

Before he hung up definitively at the end of the final stage of the Davis Cup (from November 19 to 24 in Malaga), Rafael Nadal, who announced his retirement last Thursdayhas arrived in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), to compete until Saturday in the first edition of the “Six Kings Slam”, an exhibition tournament that offers registration amount to the winner ($6 million) and brought together some of the best players on the planet. In addition to the Spaniard, we get the world number 1, Jannik Sinner, and his second place Carlos Alcaraz, as well as Novak Djokovic (4th), Daniil Medvedev (5th) and Holger Rune (14th).

Like Djokovic, Nadal is seeded and will start in the semi-finals. So we could find in the final, even if it would seem very improbable with the competition, the two men, who love each other very much. The two most successful Grand Slam players in history (24 for “Djoker” and 22 for “Rafa”) have already faced each other 60 times, with a slight advantage for the Serbian (31-29), who won their final duel in the series. The second round of the Paris Olympic Games he won.

“A great competitor who always pushed me to the limit”

“We have faced each other many times in our career, we don’t have to play again, he smiled when he arrived in Saudi Arabia For me, it has always been a challenge for Novak he pushed me to the highest level me, which brought me to the highest level.

A violinist with whom he admits he had a “special relationship”. “But with Novak, I have it too,” he continued. “That’s how I experience sports, beyond the games you, of course the experience will be much more satisfying. Tennis is a very lonely sport, I think It’s important to be careful from this point of view.” Even more so at the end of your career…