'Don't leave tennis', Djokovic tells Nadal after Saudi showdown

Novak Djokovic implored long-time rival Rafael Nadal to put off his planned retirement after defeating the Spaniard Saturday in what was likely to be the final chapter of their storied rivalry.

“Don’t leave tennis, man,” Novak 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 battles over the years had been “very intense” and told Nadal he hoped they could one day “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 Finals in Malaga next month.

Organisers of the Saudi event billed Saturday’s match as perhaps Nadal’s last singles contest as a professional.

Nadal said Thursday he was unsure whether 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 –- had faced each other 60 times on the main tour prior to Saturday’s exhibition match, with Djokovic holding a narrow 31-29 edge.

Their last encounter came during the Paris Olympics on the same Roland Garros courts where Nadal won 14 French Open titles, though Djokovic triumphed easily 6-1, 6-4.

Saturday’s match was also mostly one-sided, with Nadal spraying errors and Djokovic wrapping up the first set in just 31 minutes.

Feeding off the support of the partisan crowd who openly cheered Djokovic’s double-faults, Nadal rallied to push the second set to a tie-break, reeling off winners and even treating fans to one last iconic fist pump before succumbing to Djokovic’s relentless serving.

“It’s great to see him still fighting even though he’s had injuries and struggles,” Novak Djokovic, 37, told a post-match press conference.

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

“I’ve witnessed Andy Murray retiring this year in Wimbledon, Roger (Federer) a few years ago as well. And now Rafa, you know. It’s tough in some way to see them go, because all of my career, basically, I’ve played with them.”

After being presented with a golden tennis racket, Nadal in turn thanked Djokovic for the “amazing rivalry” and “for all the moments that we shared on court”.

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

Saudi Arabia’s push into tennis took off last year with its first ATP Tour event –- the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah –- and exhibition matches pitting 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 players and doubles teams.

The 2024 edition will be staged from November 2-9.

Earlier this year, Nadal was named ambassador for the Saudi Tennis Federation.

The new role will involve “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, notably from greats Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova who have voiced concern about the kingdom’s record of human rights abuses.

Novak Djokovic said he did not know if he, like Nadal, would spend more time in Saudi Arabia post-retirement but he said he was focussing on what he described as the positives there.

“There’s always going to be criticism. You can always focus on good things or bad things,” he said.

“You know, it just depends on the perspective, like anything in life.”