{"id":15461,"date":"2024-10-21T03:21:14","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T03:21:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=15461"},"modified":"2024-10-21T03:21:14","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T03:21:14","slug":"rafael-nadal-sends-novak-djokovic-heartfelt-message-after-last-dance-of-epic-rivalry-at-six-kings-slam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=15461","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal sends Novak Djokovic heartfelt message after last dance of epic rivalry at Six Kings Slam"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Novak<\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n
(L-R) Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n

Rafael Nadal thanked Novak Djokovic \u201cfor everything\u201d in a heartfelt message after the pair played for the last time at the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Riyadh.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The legendary Spaniard reflected on his \u201camazing rivalry\u201d with\u00a0Djokovic\u00a0and paid tribute to the great Serb for pushing him to exceed his limits.<\/p>\n

Nadal\u00a0lost 2-6, 6-7(5) to Djokovic in the third place playoff at the exhibition tournament in Saudi Arabia.\u00a0The 38-year-old will retire following the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month.<\/p>\n

In a social media post after the match, Djokovic wrote: \u201cThe last dance was an epic one. And of course emotional. I\u2019ll cherish our rivalry forever, @rafaelnadal. Tennis will miss you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nadal reacted to Djokovic\u2019s post on his Instagram story by saying thank you in Serbian: \u201cHvala Nole!\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair contested 60 ATP Tour matches \u2014 an Open Era record in men\u2019s tennis \u2014 in what was arguably one of the greatest sporting rivalries of all time.\u00a0Djokovic finishes the rivalry with a 31-29 edge, having won the pair\u2019s final official match at the 2024 Paris Olympics in July.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The remarkable duo occupy first and second place on the all-time men\u2019s Grand Slam title list, with Djokovic on 24 and Nadal on 22.<\/p>\n

Djokovic expressed the \u201cthe utmost respect\u201d he has for Nadal and labelled the Mallorcan an \u201cincredible\u201d athlete and person in an emotional on-court speech following the contest.<\/p>\n

In his own interview, Nadal credited Djokovic for making him the player he is and congratulated him on his achievements.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to say a few words for Novak and his team. Thank you. For everything. What you said today and all the moments we shared on court,\u201d said the former world No 1.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been an amazing rivalry. In a personal way, you helped me go over my limits during almost 15 years. Without that, I wouldn\u2019t be the player I am today.<\/p>\n

\u201cCongratulations for all the titles and amazing career to you and your team. I wish you all the best of luck for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the semi-finals of the Six Kings Slam, Nadal and Djokovic were beaten by Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner respectively.<\/p>\n

The six players who participated in the exhibition were guaranteed to earn $1.5 million each, while Sinner, who beat Alcaraz in the final, collected $6 million.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(L-R) Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal Rafael Nadal thanked Novak Djokovic \u201cfor everything\u201d in a heartfelt message after the pair played for the last time at the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":15462,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nRafael Nadal sends Novak Djokovic heartfelt message after last dance of epic rivalry at Six Kings Slam - Sport News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.drinkfood.info\/?p=15461\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rafael Nadal sends Novak Djokovic heartfelt message after last dance of epic rivalry at Six Kings Slam - 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