Rafael Nadal responded to Novak Djokovic’s heartfelt words for him following his retirement from tennis. The Spaniard played his final professional match at the 2024 Davis Cup.

Nadal represented Spain against the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup. He took the court for the opening singles match against Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp but was defeated 4-6, 4-6. Spain, subsequently, lost the tie 2-1 and failed to secure a spot in the semifinals, which in turn marked the end of the Spaniard’s remarkable career

In the wake of Rafael Nadal’s retirement, the official Davis Cup social media account shared an emotional video message from Novak Djokovic to the 38-year-old.

Djokovic began by congratulating the 22-time Grand Slam champion on his “amazing career .”

“Rafa, first of all, congratulations on your amazing career. Your family, your team, yourself should be extremely proud of everything that you have achieved throughout your career that lasted for more than 20 years,” Djokovic said.

The Serb then went on to reminisce about the good times they shared in the locker rooms. He stated that everyone should celebrate the Spaniard’s career as there are many achievements and moments worth honoring.

“We had a lot of fun times, sharing the locker room and, you know, I just hope that today, even though it is a sad day for tennis, even though it is a sad day for Spain and sport in general, that you are retiring, at the same time I hope that everyone will celebrate your career because there is so much to embrace, so much to celebrate,” he added.

In his farewell message, acknowledging his impact on the sport, Djokovic praised Rafael Nadal for inspiring children worldwide to pick up a tennis racket.

“I think, more importantly, and you would agree with this, is the mark that you left behind in terms of the connection with the people, in terms of how you inspired millions of children around the world to grab a tennis racket,” Djokovic said.

Watch Novak Djokovic’s full emotional farewell message below:

The Spaniard expressed his gratitude to the 24-time Grand Slam champion for his emotional farewell message, writing :

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart ❤️ ,” he captioned his Instagram story .

Novak Djokovic about Rafael Nadal in his farewell message: “Been very honored to be called your rival over the last 20 years”

In his farewell message for Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic praised the Spaniard for his “tenacity,” “fighting spirit,” “energy,” and the “power” he displayed throughout his illustrious career.

“Your tenacity, your fighting spirit, the energy that you brought every single time, the strength, the power, is something that will be studied and is something that will be transferred to many, many generations that are coming up and aspiring to be like you as a person and as a great tennis champion,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic expressed that he has been honored at being considered the rival of the 22-time Grand Slam champion for the past two decades.

“I’ve been very honored and thrilled to be called your rival over the last, almost 20 years, we’ve played more than 60 matches. I have learned so much in our encounters and thank you very much for also making me the player that I am and that I was over the last 20 years,” he added.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have faced off 60 times on the ATP tour, with Djokovic holding the advantage in their head-to-head record by winning 31 of their encounters.