When Roger Federer said goodbye to professional tennis two years ago at the Laver Cup in London, Rafael Nadal was sitting next to him, both of them crying and holding hands. But when Nadal plays his final match on Tuesday in Spain’s Davis Cup match against the Netherlands, Federer won’t be there to return the graceful retirement gesture, Nadal confirmed on Monday.
Before Novak Djokovic joined them, Federer and Nadal established the most renowned rivalry in sports history. Together, they formed the renowned Big Three of men’s tennis, who dominated the circuit for more than 20 years. When Federer announced his retirement in tears at the 2022 Laver Cup event, following a prolonged battle with a knee injury, Nadal and the Serb were in attendance.
Federer will not be in Malaga to honour the Spaniard after the Davis Cup rubber, but Nadal will be the second of the Big Three to retire from tennis on Tuesday. He did make reference to a possible farewell reunion with the Swiss.
Nadal said in his pre-tournament press conference: “It’s a different situation. I was there to play. There, we were teammates. Here, we are a Spanish team. I didn’t talk to Roger. I think Roger has a busy schedule. By the way, of course, it’s going to be my last week on the professional tour, but I don’t think it’s going to be my last goodbye. So there is going to be other chances to do something.”
Just before his final match, Rafael Nadal acknowledged that there were no happy endings and that his goal was still to help Spain win the match rather than have it be his farewell.
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Currently the world no.154, the Spaniard played his last match on the 29th of July when he was overcome by world no.7 Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-4 in the 2nd round in Paris (draw).
Currently, during this season Nadal achieved an overall 12-7 win-loss record. Rafael Nadal’s best achievement of the current year was getting to the final in Bastad.
Rafael Nadal in 2024
Currently ranked no.154, Nadal played his last match on the 29th of July when he was overcome by world no.7 Novak Djokovic 6-1 6-4 in the 2nd round in Paris (draw).
At the moment, during this season Nadal has achieved a 12-7 match record. Rafael Nadal’s best performance of this season was reaching the final in Bastad.
