Alexander Bublik dismisses criticism of Rafael Nadal's retirement ceremony as "useless talk" days after Novak Djokovic’s complaints

Days after Novak Djokovic complained that Rafael Nadal's retirement ceremony was not 'proper', Alexander Bublik dismissed all criticisms about the arrangements. Nadal played his last match at the 2024 Davis Cup, representing Spain.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion faced Botic van de Zandschulp from the Netherlands while trying to qualify his nation for the semifinals of the team event in front of a home crowd in Malaga. However, he couldn't win any points for Spain as van de Zandschulp claimed a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

A couple of months after the Spaniard's retirement, Djokovic, in a press conference at the 2025 Australian Open, shared that he was scheduled to watch his greatest rival in the semifinals and felt the farewell arrangements after Spain's exit from the quarterfinals were not up to the mark.

"[Andy] Murray and I planned to be there, we couldn’t fit the quarterfinals in our schedule, but we were a sure thing for the semis. The ceremony, if you want my opinion, wasn’t done properly. Maybe Rafa himself wasn’t sure whether he’ll play or not, and then maybe it was too late to do something bigger," Djokovic told the Serbian press in Melbourne.

Djokovic's sentiment echoes with many in the tennis community but not World No. 37 Alexander Bublik. Sportskeeda learned about the same after chatting with Bublik at Melbourne Park.

"I watched the match, of course, when he played against Botic," Bublik said in an exclusive. "I watched the farewell but I don’t think that there’s such thing as not enough or too much. If that would be like with fireworks… people would say it’s too much."

"I think if Rafa was happy in that moment, happy about how things stopped for him, I think that’s the most important thing. The speculation about saying that it’s not enough or too much… it’s useless talk."

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"If Rafael Nadal's happy, that's not a question" - Alexander Bublik

Rafael Nadal (Getty)

Further, in the same conversation with Sportskeeda at the 2025 Australian Open, Alexander Bublik noted what truly mattered was Rafael Nadal's happiness. He claimed that the arrangements shouldn't be scrutinized, arguing that Roger Federer's farewell didn't raise eyebrows.

"If he’s happy… that’s not a question," Bublik said. "We’re not raising a question on how other guys finished… Roger [Federer] was fine or too much, you never know."

Federer notably called it a day amid great fanfare during the 2022 Laver Cup in London's O2 Arena.

The Swiss was joined by his fierce rivals Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray. In his last on-court appearance, he teamed up with the Spaniard for Team Europe's doubles duty against Team World's Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe, losing 4-6, 7-6(2), 11-9.