The Venue in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh will forever hold a special place in the hearts of tennis fans across the globe for hosting the dream nostalgic duel between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. With the Spaniard set to retire from professional tennis next month following the Davis Cup Finals on home soil, the clash at the Six Kings Slam exhibition tournament on Saturday night was their final career meeting. Djokovic won 6-2 7-6(5) in the third-place play-off.
It was a rather lacklustre first set from Rafa, with Djokovic gaining a quick lead in the match after breaking serve twice, but the second set was a far closer affair as the 22-time Grand Slam winner would not go down without a fight.
Djokovic did break serve again at the start of the second set, but Nadal returned the favour to make it 1-1, and he stayed in the battle thereafter. The Spaniard had the chance to gain a 4-2 lead in the set and force a deciding third in the exhibition clash, the Serb survived to keep it at 3-all, and later broke serve to gain a 5-4 lead. But just when it seemed that the match was over, Nadal turned back the clock with some trademark forehand returns, to save a match point and then break Djokovic.
The two incredible points helped Nadal, who remains in preparation to play the Davis Cup tie for Spain in Malaga on November 19, take a 6-5 lead in the second set, but the world No. 4 held his nerves to deny a third set in the match.
‘Novak helped me go over my limits for 15 years’
Following the match, Rafa thanked Djokovic for helping him emerge as a better player through the course of their iconic rivalry spanning over a decade and a half, with a first major meeting back in 2006 French Open.
“Novak, you helped me go over my limits for 15 years,” he said. “I will probably not be the player I am [without you]. I wish you the best of luck for the future.”
Nadal, in an emotional speech, admitted that he would miss every aspect of his professional career when he hangs the boots next month.
“It has been a dream come true to be able to play for almost 20 years, being competitive, having the chance to play in the best places in the world, which I watched on TV as a kid,” he said.
“I cannot thank you enough for the support and love I have received all around. There was an amazing journey every single tournament over the years. I feel very fortunate to be a tennis player.”