Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have turned up at the French Open to participate in a ceremony honouring 14-time tournament champion Rafael Nadal, symbolising the approaching end of a golden era in men’s tennis.
Nadal addressed the packed Court Philippe-Chatrier in French, English and Spanish at the event where he had a ridiculous 112-4 win-loss record since winning his first grand slam title as a 19-year-old on debut in 2005.
During a 45-minute tribute, Nadal thanked tournament director Amélie Mauresmo and Fédération Française de Tennis president Gilles Moretton for organising “this final farewell from, without a doubt, the most important tennis court of my career”.
“I’ve experienced everything over these 20 years,” Nadal said.
“I’ve had incredible rivals, like Andy, Novak and of course Roger. And of course many others who pushed me to my physical and mental limits. Truly, nothing would have been as thrilling without these long-lasting rivalries that have driven all of us to improve every single day.
“Roland-Garros is unique, not only because it is a fundamental part of tennis history, but because of all the people who work tirelessly, always with a smile, to make this tournament what it is: unique.”
In the stands, along with thousands of adoring fans, were Nadal’s family, including uncle and former coach Toni, wife Mery Xisca Perello and son Rafael Jr, who was passed down onto court with his dad before meeting his dad’s great rivals after the ceremony.
French tennis great Yannick Noah, Spanish NBA champion Pau Gasol, 1998 French Open winner Carlos Moya and Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley were also in attendance.
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray joined the crowd in farewelling the Spanish legend. (Getty Images: Robert Szaniszlo/NurPhoto)
“To have my three biggest rivals there, in the court with me, meant a lot, no? And at the same time, it’s a great message for the world that the … toughest rivalries probably in the history of our sport are able to be good colleagues, to respect each other,” Nadal said after an emotional on-court ceremony.
“You don’t need to hate the opponent to try to beat him with all your forces, and that’s the message that I think we showed people, we showed the new generations, and in some way that’s our legacy.”
During the tribute to Nadal, a video played showing those three rivals of his — together, the quartet with a combined 69 grand slam titles came to be known as the Big Four.
Nadal, who turns 39 next month, retired after last season with his final few tournaments including the only first-round French Open loss of his career, a runner-up finish in Bastad, a second-round Olympics exit against Djokovic back at Roland Garros and a straight-sets loss at the Davis Cup.
“We couldn’t let you leave like that,” Djokovic said in the taped segment, and then he, Federer and Murray walked out together on centre court.
Nadal gave each a hug as they patted him on the back and shared a laugh.
It was another emotional moment in a ceremony that left few dry eyes in the arena, least of all for Nadal.
There were plenty of tears shed by the tennis legend and his fans. (Getty Images: Burak Akbulut/Anadolu)
He did not know for sure they would be there, but he suspected they would be. (Djokovic is entered in the French Open and is scheduled to play his first match on Tuesday.)
“All the nerves, pressure, strange feelings that you feel when we see each other when we are really rivals, it’s completely different when you finish your career,” Nadal said, addressing world number six Djokovic in particular.
“At the end, now it’s all about being happy about everything that we achieved. At the end, all of us achieved our dreams.”
While addressing his most famous competitors, Nadal made a point to include a credit to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who was also in the building and was beaten by Nadal in the 2013 French final during a run of 10 straight trips to grand slam quarterfinals or better from 2012 to 2014.
Federer, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray won 34 of 35 men’s majors from the 2005 French Open to the end of 2013. (Getty Images: Tim Clayton)
“You gave me some hard times on court but I really enjoyed a lot pushing myself to the limit every single day to compete with all of you,” Nadal said.
“At the end, tennis is just a game. Sometimes we feel it’s a little bit more but I think we understand it’s really only a game.
“So that means [everything] for me that all of you are here. That’s a great message to the world that we can be good friends even if we had the best rivalries. Thank you very, very much for everything during all these years.”
Nadal’s record haul of majors in Paris was marked with a permanent plate on centre court featuring his footprint in the red clay.
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Federer, now 43, played his last match in 2021 and announced his retirement the following year.
Murray, who turned 38 this month, retired after participating in the Paris Olympics last year and briefly coached Djokovic this season.
Djokovic, who turned 38 on Thursday and won his 100th career title on Saturday, is the only member of the group still active on tour.
The Serb has won the most grand slam titles for a man, with 24. Nadal is next on the list with 22, followed by Federer with 20. Murray won three but made eight other finals across all four majors, losing to Federer and Djokovic each time. The Scot also won successive Olympic singles titles in 2012 and 2016.
Nadal and Djokovic played each other 60 times, the most matches between two men in the Open era of tennis, which began in 1969.
Djokovic led the series 31-29, taking their final encounter in the second round of the Paris Olympics last year, although Nadal led 8-2 in French Open match-ups.
Nadal led Federer 24-16, including 6-0 at Roland-Garros. Nadal led Murray 17-7.
“They represent a very important part of my tennis career, because in some way, we pushed each other to the limits. … Always, one of that four was winning the tournament,” Nadal said.
“So that, to put it in perspective, never allowed us to stay relaxed or to give us a break in terms of intensity, in terms of the determination [to] keep improving our game.”
In something of a passing-of-the-torch moment, world number two and recent Rome Masters winner Carlos Alcaraz greeted the quartet after the tribute.
Sabalenka advances
On the court, top-seeded woman Aryna Sabalenka tore past Russian Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-0, while it was a tough day for the Australians in action, with all three losing.
Rinky Hijikata won a set for the first time in a French Open main draw before going down to giant American Reilly Opelka 1-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-6(7-3).
Tristan Schoolkate was taught a lesson by the last player Nadal beat as a pro, Márton Fucsovics, — losing 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.
And Destanee Aiava’s main draw debut ended in straight sets against Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska, 7-5, 6-1.
AP/ABC
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