Novak Djokovic makes feelings very clear after beating Rafael Nadal in final meeting

Rafael Nadal is acceptable to discontinue from tennis successful November and Novak Djokovic has paid tribute to his longtime rival aft their last lucifer astatine the Six Kings Slam accumulation lawsuit successful Saudi Arabia

Novak Djokovic has begged Rafael Nadal to not "leave tennis" aft beating him successful their last ever meeting.

Nadal has announced helium volition beryllium retiring from the sport aft the Davis Cup successful November, having struggled with wounded problems successful caller years. The Spaniard has enjoyed a storied rivalry with Djokovic implicit their careers and they faced disconnected for the past clip astatine the Six Kings Slam accumulation lawsuit successful Saudi Arabia.

Djokovic won the third-place contention 6-2 7-6 (7-5) and paid an affectional tribute to Nadal aft the match. "I person the utmost respect for you: unthinkable athlete, unthinkable person," Djokovic said.

"The rivalry has been unthinkable and has been precise intense, truthful I anticipation that we'll person a accidental to possibly beryllium connected the formation determination and possibly person a small portion and bespeak connected life, talking astir thing else.

"I volition decorativeness with 1 large convey you, from not conscionable me, but each of the tennis world for what you person done. You near an unthinkable bequest and we truly admit it. Don't permission tennis man, enactment a small spot longer, enactment with us."

Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam titles crossed his legendary vocation and Djokovic is the lone antheral to person won much than him with 24. "It has been an astonishing rivalry," the Spaniard said of Djokovic.

"In a idiosyncratic mode I person to accidental that you helped maine to spell implicit my limits during astir 15 years. So convey you for that due to the fact that without that astir apt I volition not beryllium the subordinate that I americium today. It has been a imagination travel existent to beryllium capable to play for astir 20 years being competitory and having the accidental to play successful the champion places successful the world."

When helium announced his status earlier this month, Nadal admitted helium has been incapable to "play without limitations" for the past 2 years. "The world is that it has been immoderate hard years, the past 2 especially," helium said.

"I don't deliberation I person been capable to play without limitations. It is evidently a hard decision, 1 that has taken maine immoderate clip to make. In this life, everything has a opening and an end. And I deliberation it's the due clip to enactment an extremity to a vocation that has been agelong and overmuch much palmy than I could person ever imagined.

"I americium precise excited that my past tourney volition beryllium the last of the Davis Cup representing my country. I deliberation I've travel afloat ellipse since 1 of my archetypal large joys arsenic a nonrecreational tennis subordinate was the Davis Cup last successful Sevilla successful 2004."

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