Five years ago, on 22 December 2018, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were set to play an exhibition match in Saudi Arabia. The duo had committed to show up for the event more than a year earlier.
However, both Nadal and Djokovic were condemned by Amnesty International, a worldwide human rights organization, owing to the assassination of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the time. The killing happened in October 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, reportedly by agents of the country’s government.
While addressing the press on the eve of the Paris Masters, Rafael Nadal sought more information on the developing situation in Saudi Arabia. Clarifying his stance on the commitment to the event, the Mallorcan also expressed his opinion on the incident, calling it “terrible.”
“I had a commitment since one year ago. My team is talking to them, to analyse things. It’s terrible that one journalist lost their life. I know something happened very bad inside there. I hope things will clarify as soon as possible,” Nadal said.
Noavak Djokovic, in his press conference, acknowledged the killing and, similar to Nadal, sought more specifics before deciding on anything.
“Of course I’m aware of what’s happening and it’s sad. Because right now we just don’t have enough information and we have to look into that a bit more and then we’ll make our decision soon,” Djokovic stated.
Eventually, the exhibition event was called off owing to the Spaniard’s ankle injury.
Djokovic, the current World No. 1, is now scheduled to take on Carlos Alcaraz on December 27 this year in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Aryna Sabalenka and Ons Jabeur will also face each other on December 26 at the exhibition event, and all four players have already come under criticism from fans on social media.
“I don’t know how many Grand Slam finals I have ahead of me now” – Novak Djokovic on making the most of every opportunity at his age
Upon reaching the final of the 2023 US Open, Novak Djokovic admitted he did not know what the future held for him. At the same time, promised to enjoy the feeling of being out on court as much as possible in the coming days.
Djokovic cruised to a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(4) victory over Ben Shelton in the semifinals at Flushing Meadows. The 36-year-old, reflecting on his tennis journey thus far, underlined how much more valuable such opportunities were to him now than they were a decade ago.
“Well, fact is that at 36, every Grand Slam final, yeah, I don’t know, could be the last one. So I think that I probably value these occasions and opportunities to win another slam as more than I have maybe 10 years ago,” he said during the post-match press conference.
“Because 10 years ago I felt like, hey, I still have quite a few years ahead of me. I don’t know how many I have ahead of me now, or I don’t know how many of the years where I play four slams in the whole season do I have in front of me,” he added.
