Novak Djokovic 'sad' about retirement of great rivals Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Andy Murray but maintains motivation for future

Novak Djokovic has expressed his thoughts on the recent retirements of his longtime rivals Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray, combined with Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro's departure from tennis, and their impact on his own career. Djokovic formed great rivalries with these players over the years.

The Serb is currently in Buenos Aires to participate in an exhibition event dedicated to the official farewell of del Potro from tennis. The former US Open champion last played competitively in 2022 and, after several severe injury troubles, decided to call time on his once-promising career.

The two great rivals and friends appeared in front of the media before their landmark showdown on December 1, and during the press interaction, Djokovic was asked to give his take on the apparent end of an era in tennis. The end referred to the 2024 retirements of some of the greatest players of all time, like Nadal, Murray, and del Potro.

Djokovic argued that he was part of the "golden era" of tennis alongside the aforementioned players as well as Federer and Stan Wawrinka. The 37-year-old marveled at how these rivalries influenced his and his rivals' careers over the last 15 years.

"I am still playing and I believe I am part of a golden era. Federer, Nadal, Murray, Delpo, Wawrinka... it is a very special era for our sport. Our personal careers have been influenced by all these rivalries of the last 15 years. For me, looking at this year, it is an incredible thing. I am a bit sad because my greatest rivals have left," the Serb said via Punto de Break.

Djokovic went as far as to say that a part of his tennis journey ended with the retirements of these foes-turned-friends. However, the 24-time Grand Slam champion is doing everything he can to keep himself motivated as he looks forward to the 2025 season and recently made the shock move to hire Andy Murray as his new coach.

"A part of me, in terms of tennis, also leaves with them, but I continue to seek this motivation. Now I work with a new coach, one of my biggest rivals, who inspires me to see if we can achieve great things in our sport," he continued.

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Novak Djokovic faced Federer, Nadal, Murray, del Potro, and Wawrinka a combined 193 times in his career

Picture from 2024 Paris Olympics (Source: Getty)

Novak Djokovic's tennis career was filled with matches against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Juan Martin del Potro, and Stan Wawrinka. The Serb faced these rivals on the tennis courts an incredible 193 times over the last 18 years.

The most number of contests came against Rafael Nadal, who faced off against the man from Belgrade 60 times on tour. The Serb narrowly leads the Spaniard 31-29 in the head-to-head series, with the former winning the last matchup at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Federer and Djokovic played each other 50 times, with the latter once again holding a narrow 23-27 head-to-head advantage.

The Serb holds a much more comfortable win/loss record against Andy Murray (25/11), Juan Martin del Potro (16/4), and Stan Wawrinka (21/6). Out of this lot, only Wawrinka can better his numbers against the former World No. 1 as he is still active on the ATP Tour at the age of 39.