Rafael Nadal will officially retire from tennis at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga and will soon make Novak Djokovic the last of the Fab 4 still active.
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For the Serbian champion it will not be easy not to see around the Tour the opponents against whom he has always had to fight - Roger Federer, Andy Murray and, indeed, Nadal - to win the most important tournaments in the tennis scene. The arduous task he will have to face will be precisely that of finding new motivations to continue.
And it was enough to see how the 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic was evidently moved during the interview given at the end of the match won with Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters, to understand how even for Nole the near future will be something new, something never seen before.
"I already posted it on Instagram. He was my biggest rival, the rivalry I had with him is the one that had the biggest impact on my career, ever. We knew that moment would come sooner or later, but it's a shock when it officially arrives. Also for Roger a few years ago, when he announced his retirement, and for Andy this year.
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It's a bit shocking for me, I still don't know how to live this situation. I love competing, but a part of me went with them, a big part of me. So yeah, it's difficult news for the world of tennis and sports. Rafa is an inspiration to millions of kids around the world and he should be very proud of his career," he analyzed.
At the end of the match won against Mensik, Djokovic also spoke about many other interesting topics: from the condition of his knee to the ever-closer goal of the 100th career title.
"It means more because I don't have a lot of opportunities. I have a selective schedule and I haven't played at my best level this year, except maybe a few occasions: Wimbledon, Olympics. But China has always been a happy place, a place where I played my best tennis in my entire career. So, you know, these kind of matches, against teenagers, it's something that motivates me, it keeps me going and it pushes me to really dig deep, and to show the world that I can still go ahead with young people. I'm very happy that I was able to win this very challenging match.
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Mentally I felt good. I felt quite tense at the end of the first set, and I wasn't playing my best tennis at that moment, so I was a little bit angry with myself for not closing out the first set. But I recovered, started the second set very well, winning 6-1. In the third set I had a lot of opportunities in his service games, but his serve is extraordinary, very difficult to beat. I've known him for three, four years, I've followed his rise in the rankings, his development. He is a good guy, a very talented player, a great prospect. He has a bright future, for sure, if he continues like this. He knows that he is one of my favorite players to watch and I always support him, so I hope there will be more matches and great battles," he said.
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The Serb, who will face Taylor Fritz in the semifinals in a few minutes, is aiming for his 100th career title: "I think you can always do better, but I think I played really well in this tournament. I played matches and tomorrow I have an opponent with a great serve like Fritz, so I have to be ready for another tough and hard-fought match. I know what to expect, this is the time for me to try to improve even more and hopefully I have a chance to reach the final."
On the condition of his left knee, he analyzed: "It's a strange feeling, to be honest, that I had for two points in the match, but then everything was fine. So, I hope that when it cools down I won't have any problems, because I already have problems with my right knee, so it wouldn't be good. Let's see how I feel tomorrow."
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