Novak Djokovic leaves Rafael Nadal emotional with plea 'Don't leave tennis' in on-court chat after last career clash | Tennis news

Novak Djokovic begged old rival Rafael Nadal to postpone his planned retirement after beating the Spaniard on Saturday in what was likely to be the final chapter of their storied rivalry.

“Don't leave tennis, man,” Djokovic said in an on-court interview after beating Nadal in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at the “Six Kings Slam” exhibition in Saudi Arabia.

He added that their fights over the years had been “very intense” and told Nadal he hoped one day they could “sit on a beach somewhere” and have a drink.

Nadal, 38, announced on October 10 that he would retire from tennis after the Davis Cup final in Malaga next month.

Organizers of the Saudi event billed Saturday's match as perhaps Nadal's last singles match as a professional.

Nadal said on Thursday he was not sure if he would be fit enough to play singles in Malaga.

Djokovic and Nadal – two of the sport's famed 'Big Three', along with Roger Federer – faced each other 60 times on the main tour ahead of Saturday's friendly, with Djokovic holding a slim 31-29 lead.

Their last meeting took place during the Paris Olympics on the same courts of Roland Garros where Nadal won fourteen French Open titles, although Djokovic easily prevailed 6-1, 6-4.

Saturday's match was also largely one-sided, with Nadal spraying errors and Djokovic completed the first set in just 31 minutes.

Feeding off the support of the partisan crowd that openly cheered Djokovic's double faults, Nadal rallied to push the second set to a tiebreak, running out winners and even treating the fans to a final iconic fist pump before succumbing to the ruthless serve from Djokovic.

“It's great to see him still fighting, even though he has injuries and problems,” the 37-year-old Djokovic told a post-match news conference.

It was “a very emotional day, a special day” because it was the “last time I played against my biggest rival Nadal”, he added.

“I saw Andy Murray retire at Wimbledon this year, and Roger (Federer) a few years ago too. And now Rafa, you know. It's somehow hard to see them leave, because I actually spent my whole career I played with them.”

After receiving a gold tennis racket, Nadal in turn thanked Djokovic for the “great rivalry” and “for all the moments we shared on the court.”

– Saudi tennis push –

French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz was due to face Australian Open and US Open winner Jannik Sinner in the final of the “Six Kings Slam” later Saturday.

Saudi Arabia's move into tennis started last year with its first ATP Tour event – ​​the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah – and exhibition matches that pitted Djokovic against Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka against Ons Jabeur.

The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) announced in April that Riyadh would host the next three editions of the Tour Finals, featuring the top eight singles and doubles teams.

The 2024 edition will take place from November 2 to 9.

Earlier this year, Nadal was appointed ambassador of the Saudi Tennis Federation.

The new role will entail “dedicated time in the kingdom each year” to grow the sport, as well as the development of a new Rafa Nadal Academy, the Saudi federation said when the announcement was made in January.

The tennis world's embrace of Saudi Arabia has drawn some criticism, particularly from greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova, who have raised concerns about the kingdom's record of human rights abuses.

Djokovic said he did not know whether he, like Nadal, would spend more time in Saudi Arabia after retiring, but said he was focusing on what he described as the positives there.

“There will always be criticism. You can always focus on good or bad things,” he said.

You know, it just depends on perspective, like everything in life.

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