Novak Djokovic blasts Rafael Nadal's retirement ceremony planning; regrets own absence

Novak Djokovic (L), Rafael Nadal (R)
Novak Djokovic (L) and Rafael Nadal | Image Source: Getty

Novak Djokovic famously describes Rafael Nadal as his greatest rival. The Serbian respects Nadal tremendously and had plans to see him off when the time of his retirement came. Djokovic was in London together with Nadal when Federer retired from the sport but wasn't there for Nadal's retirement.

The reason was simple: he couldn't make it. Both he and Murray planned to be there for the semifinal match of Spain because the retirement was planned for the Davis Cup.

Spain wasn't able to beat the Netherlands in the quarterfinal, meaning that Nadal's retirement ceremony took place after that, and both Djokovic and Murray couldn't make it.

“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," Djokovic told the Tennis Majors.
"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. Unfortunately, it turned out the way it did, what are you gonna do? More than that, I don’t really know.

Novak Djokovic says Rafael Nadal's retirement ceremony "wasn't done properly"

Djokovic at the 2024 Laureus World Sport Awards Madrid | Image Source: Getty
Djokovic at the 2024 Laureus World Sport Awards Madrid | Image Source: Getty

In the same interview, Djokovic talked a bit more about the ceremony itself. It was a pretty modest one with Nadal giving a brief speech and a tribute being played. The Spaniard never professed to want a huge retirement ceremony because he's always been rather humble. However, for Djokovic, it simply didn't feel right.

“I saw the video (of the ceremony). I don’t know, 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 Serb said.
"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…" he added.

A somewhat nicer tribute was done at the Madrid Open earlier that year, though that one was also rather modest. In fairness, those of Roger Federer and Andy Murray didn't feature any large celebrations. For Djokovic, though, it's likely to happen because he is going to get a grand parade in his home country of Serbia when all is said and done. Time will tell, though, because we're not close to that yet.

What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here

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Edited by Pritha Ghosh
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