Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray paid tribute to long-term rival and friend Rafael Nadal during the Spaniard’s emotional farewell ceremony at Roland Garros on Sunday.
The trio appeared in a touching video played to a packed Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd before walking onto the court to embrace the 14-time Roland Garros champion.
“Hi Rafa, after all these years and all these fights, we couldn’t let you leave like that,” Federer, Djokovic and Murray said together in the tribute video. “We really wanted to leave you a message and let you know your old pals will always be with you.”
Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray share a special moment with Rafael Nadal on Court Philippe-Chatrier Sunday.
Nadal’s dominance in Paris is legendary. He held a perfect 6-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Federer at Roland Garros, defeating the Swiss star in three straight finals between 2006 and 2008. Nadal went 8-2 against Djokovic at the event, and he beat Murray in both of their encounters in the French capital.
Addressing his iconic rivals on court, Nadal reflected on their shared history and how retirement has shifted his perspective.
“After all these years fighting for everything, it is unbelievable how the time changes the perspective of everything,” Nadal said to Federer, Djokovic and Murray. “You don’t know yet Novak, probably you know already Andy, but with Roger, we have been talking about that a couple of times. All these nerves, pressure, strange feelings when you see each other when you are rivals, it is completely different when you finish your career.
“Now it is all about being happy about everything that we achieved. In the end we all achieved our dreams. We became tennis players and played in the most important stages. I think we built amazing rivalries and in a good way. I think we showed the world we could fight as hard as possible but in a good way. Good colleagues, who respect each other.
“You gave me some hard times on courts but I really enjoyed it a lot, pushing myself to the limit every day to compete with all of you. At the end, tennis is just a game but we understand that at the end, it is only a game. So all of you here means everything. It is a great message to the world that we can be good friends even if we had the best rivalries.”
After Nadal’s remarks, the four posed for photos, shared smiles and memories. Nadal held a 112-4 record at Roland Garros, according to Infosys Stats, and won 14 of his 22 majors in Paris.
