On the sidelines of theAustralian Open 2025, Novak Djokovic gave an interview to the Serbian press. In it, the Serb notably returned to the farewell ceremony of Rafael Nadal during the last Davis Cup has Malaga. While Absence had planned to be there from the semi-finals onwards, theSpain was eliminated in the quarters. The Mallorcan had to settle for a speech with a short tribute video for his farewell to Tennis, a moment not strong enough according to some. An opinion joined by Djokovicwho regrets having missed this tribute.
Video – Guy Forget on Rafael Nadal's farewell
“I feel bad that I wasn’t there.”
“I don't know the exact details of the ceremony, but I know the plan was to do it after the semi-finals, if Spain qualified. Murray and I had planned to be there, we couldn't fit the quarter-finals into our schedule, but we were sure we would be there for the semi-finals. Unfortunately, things turned out like this. What can we do about it? I don't really know. I saw the video. I don't know if Rafa didn't want to make too much of a fuss so as not to disturb the other teams… I don't know, to be honest, but I feel bad not to have been there.“
“The ceremony was not done well”
“We were on the court together in Riyadh, it was a nice moment. I saw him play at Roland Garros, we played against each other at the Olympic Games… The ceremony, if you ask me, was not done well. Maybe Rafa himself wasn't sure whether to play or not, whether he could play again, and maybe it was too late to do something bigger. I don't really know, maybe…”
