Source : ABC NEWS
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.
“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.”
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray joined the crowd in farewelling the Spanish legend. (Getty Images: Robert Szaniszlo/NurPhoto)
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.
“We couldn’t let you leave like this,” Murray said in the taped segment, and then he, Federer and Djokovic walked out together in front of a packed Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Nadal, who turns 39 next month and retired after last season, gave each a hug as they patted him on the back.
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.)
“At the end, now, it’s all about being happy about everything that we achieved,” Nadal said.
“At the end, all of us achieved our dreams.”
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.”
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
