Rafael Nadal’s retirement at the Davis Cup Finals was marked with a retirement ceremony that included tributes from his great rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Nadal’s illustrious career ended in the quarterfinal of the Davis Cup Finals. Team Spain was upset by the Netherlands after Wesley Koolhof and Botic van de Zandschulp won the deciding doubles match against Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers.
There was no fairytale ending for Nadal, who lost his singles match against van de Zandschulp. Alcaraz defeated Tallon Griekspoor to make it 1-1, but it proved meaningless after the Dutch team prevailed in the doubles.
Although he had hoped to mark the end of his career by winning a fifth Davis Cup title, Nadal’s retirement ceremony took place after Spain was eliminated, and the 38-year-old was visibly emotional throughout.
One moment included Nadal saying he wanted to be remembered more for being a good person than for any of the titles he won, which shows what a humble champion the former world No. 1 has been.
The entire retirement ceremony can be watched in the video below. For the first 12 minutes, Nadal emotionally addresses the crowd and receives a rousing reception at the end of his speech.
That was followed by the International Tennis Federation and the Spanish Tennis Federation taking to the court to acknowledge Nadal for his tennis achievements.
A clip was then played of various stars saluting Nadal Federer, Djokovic, Serena Williams, Andy Murray, Andres Iniesta, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Conchita Martinez were among those to appear in the video.
Federer, who wrote an emotional tribute to Nadal on his social media pages on the morning of what turned out to be the Spaniard’s last day as a professional player, mentioned the pair’s memorable 2008 Wimbledon final in his tribute to Nadal.
“Congratulations on the most incredible career. It was a pleasure to play with you but also against you. Some of my favorite memories with you Rafa, of course the 2008 Wimbledon final where you got me.”
Djokovic discussed Nadal’s uniquely energetic and intense playing style in his comments about the man the Serbian has called his most significant rival on several occasions.
“Your tenacity, your fighting spirit, the energy that you brought, the power, is something that will be studied and is something that will be transferred to many, many generations that are coming up.”
“I’ve been very, very honored and thrilled to be called your rival. The tennis world and the sports world will miss the incredible energy that you brought on the court. There is so much to embrace, so much to celebrate.”
Williams mentioned how much Nadal’s mentality and fighting spirit influenced her. After the video, Nadal talked about wanting to be remembered as a good person before saluting the crowd and his Davis Cup teammates one final time.
“Gosh, you’ve meant so much in my career. You inspired me to have so many wins, to keep going, to fight, to get better, to improve. To basically play like you.”
