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Rafael Nadal Hopes Tennis World Stops Comparing Stars to Him, Djokovic and Federer

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Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic

Two of the “Big Three” will be retired from tennis after the Spaniard steps away next month.

As Rafael Nadal prepares to retire from professional tennis next month, the Spaniard has been asked many times to reflect on the rivalries he’s shared with the other two members of the “Big Three”—Roger Federer of Switzerland and Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

In a recent interview with DAZN Sport, the 22-time major champion was asked to push the conversation further and compare the rivalries between him, Federer and Djokovic to the new rivalries being made between young players in tennis—like the battles between Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and Jannik Sinner of Italy.

Nadal admitted a rivalry may be blooming between the World No. 1 and 2, but he doesn’t want to compare his rivalries to theirs quite yet. He thinks the 21-year-old and 23-year-old should have a chance to prove themselves throughout their careers, and then the tennis world can declare comparisons between the eras of rivalries.

Rafael Nadal

“We need to wait, but of course. This year already two grand slams for each. Number one and number two in the world. They’re creating their own story,” Nadal said of Sinner and Alcaraz. “I think it’s not a moment to compare eras. Because Novak is still there. Roger and myself left… but that’s part of the sports career of everyone. Now it’s a new generation coming. We need to let them create their own rivalries and their own story. They don’t need the comparisons with us. Let’s see at the end of their careers, then will be the moment to compare what they did and what we did.”

Nadal’s been a big influence on fellow Spaniard Alcaraz’s career in particular. The duo even competed in doubles during this year’s Paris Olympics. Alcaraz appeared pretty emotional after the announcement on Nadal’s retirement, too.

But, like Nadal said, Alcaraz has been making his own history on the tennis court. At this year’s French Open, he became the youngest male player to reach a major final on all three surfaces. He won both the French Open and Wimbledon this year to total four career majors so far.

Sinner captured the other two major titles of the year at the Australian Open and U.S. Open.

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TENNIS

Rafael Nadal Offers High Praise for Novak Djokovic and His Legendary Career

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Rafael Nadal

As Rafael Nadal’s illustrious tennis career comes to an end in November, he has been reflecting on his 20-plus year career.

When asked by Spanish magazine AS who his toughest rival has been, he wavered between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, which are the other two players included in the “Big Three.”

However, Nadal seemed to settle on Djokovic being a tough competitor because of his ability to stay healthy and remain on top of the competition in nearly every year of his career. And, of course, Djokovic holds the Open Era record of 24 major titles, surpassing Nadal’s 22.

“In the end, he is a player who has managed to maintain a very high level of play and improve every year,” Nadal said, via English translation. “The numbers say that he is the best, so his tennis level has also been the best and, in addition, he is the one who has managed to stay the furthest away from injuries.

Rafael Nadal

“When you have no limitations or major injuries that last for a long time, it not only affects you physically and gives you options to win, but it also generates a lack of fear on a mental level, neither of getting injured, nor of slipping when you reach a ball on a hard court. Djokovic runs on a hard court and slides here, slides there, just like Carlos does today. Because they are not afraid to do it yet and they can.

“I did it at the beginning of my career, but of course, when things happen, you just can’t do it, so these are limitations that appear along the way and you have to look for shortcuts to continue being competitive in other ways. That has allowed Novak to maintain his physical, tennis and mental level for longer. It is not an excuse, thanks to that he is the best and he has really earned it.”

It’s safe to say that Nadal highly respects his longtime rival Djokovic. Their competition is seemingly over after Djokovic beat Nadal 6–2, 7–6(5) in the Six Kings Slam on Saturday.

Nadal is set to retire after the Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain from Nov. 19-21.

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TENNIS

Federer, Nadal congratulate Thiem on ‘illustrious career’

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Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal took to social media Tuesday following Dominic Thiem’s loss at the Erste Bank Open to congratulate the Austrian on his retirement.

“An illustrious career comes to a close,” Federer wrote in an Instagram story. “Congratulations Domi.”

Thiem won five of his seven Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings against Federer. Their lone championship clash came at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open, where the Austrian claimed his lone ATP Masters 1000 title.

“No matter the surface, you always found a way to beat me with your thunderous backhands,” Federer wrote. “But more importantly, you did it with grace and sportsmanship.”

Nadal, who won their series 10-6 (Thiem earned four clay-court victories) also posted an Instagram Story, sharing the same sentiment as many: “Danke Domi”.

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TENNIS

‘Spooky Szn’ Sparks Joy for Coco Gauff as She Soaks in Much-Needed Break From Intense Tennis Grind With Family and Friends

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Coco Gauff

If it were up to Coco Gauff, every day would be Halloween! The young American tennis sensation might have had a challenging season, but that hasn’t dampened her spirit and Gauff refuses to let the setbacks get to her. Instead, she’s embracing her off-court passions, and Halloween is clearly at the top of that list!

The American tennis sensation has expressed time and again her fondness for the Spooky season. And with Halloween around the corner, Gauff is failing to control her excitement. The star player took to her Instagram story on Monday to share pictures from an outing as she began the celebrations for what may be perfectly called her favorite time of the year.

In a string of stories that Gauff shared, she can be seen enjoying the Halloween celebrations. Posting a video of a spooky doll, which transitions its expressions from being friendly to being terrifying, Gauff wrote, “Why she switch up on me like that? Like I thought we were friends again!?” In the subsequent story, she shared a picture of herself from outside a place that read “Halloween Horror Nights.” Captioning the story, the star player wrote, “Spooky szn is the best time of the year.” With that, her stories on her social media continued.

Gauff also shared a post on her story where she can be seen wearing a floral outfit as she posed for the camera. “The theme was 70s,” she wrote about her attire. The star player has struggled significantly in her professional endeavors. She clinched two titles this season at the ASB Classic and the China Open, but she seems to let nothing come in the way of her love for the Spooky season. Interestingly, this is not the first time when the star player has expressed her love for the season or has flaunted her Halloween-special attire.

Ahead of the WTA finals last year, Coco Gauff opened up on her passion for Halloween in a pre-tournament conference. “I’ve always been passionate about Halloween since I was a kid. I always loved to dress up. I would do it, like, year-round. I’ve always talked about wanting to go to [do] cosplay, the conventions, and all of that.” Gauff said in Cancun. In 2021, Gauff was also seen dressing up as Velma, which she considers as one of her favorite efforts. Her passion for Halloween was witnessed in the subsequent years as well.

Coco Gauff

In 2022, Coco touched upon her inner mystic self and dressed as Raven from “Teen Titans.” She also tried her hands at being a movie villain in 2023 and took the internet by storm. But while Gauff is extremely enthusiastic about the spooky season, her family is not much of a fan of Halloween.

When Coco Gauff revealed forcing her family to dress up for Halloween

Coco Gauff’s passion for style has often come to light. Be it dazzling up off-court events or dressing up for Halloween, the star player has never shied away from expressing herself. However, she revealed that her family is not as excited as her when it comes to Halloween, and she often ends up forcing them to dress up for the season.

Speaking in the same interview ahead of the WTA Finals last year, Gauff revealed, “With my family, honestly only three members of my family, or two, one actually, Cameron is the only one who is really keen to doing it. The rest I just kind of force to do it.” Last year, she claimed that her family members were not even ready for basic dress-up.

“We have some funny videos of us trying to get pictures together. My dad is fed up. Codey is fed up. They don’t care about Halloween that much, but they do it for me. You can see their costumes are the least effort amount. This year they just had to put on a mask,” Gauff shared. For now, it would be interesting to see which costume Coco Gauff and her family pick to send player’s fandom into a frenzy.

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TENNIS

‘Don’t leave tennis’: Djokovic asks Nadal to delay retirement after Saudi showdown

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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic (37) implored longtime rival Rafael Nadal (38) to put off his planned retirement after defeating the Spaniard on Saturday in what was likely to be the final chapter of their storied rivalry.

“Don’t leave tennis, man,” an emotional Djokovic said in an on-court interview after beating Nadal in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(5) at the “Six Kings Slam” exhibition in Saudi Arabia.

“It’s been an incredible honour and an incredible pleasure to share the court with you. It’s been quite an emotional moment today, we’ve been playing a lot of games over so many years.”

“The rivalry has been incredible and very intense, so I hope that we’ll have a chance to maybe sit in the beach somewhere have a little drink, reflecting on life, talking about something else.

“Thank you for what you have done, you leave an incredible legacy and we really appreciate it.”

Nadal announced on October 10th that he would retire from tennis after the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next month.

Organisers of the Saudi event billed Saturday’s match as perhaps Nadal’s last singles contest as a professional.

Nadal said Thursday he was unsure whether he would be fit enough to play singles in Malaga.

Djokovic and Nadal – two of the sport’s famed “Big Three” along with Roger Federer – had faced each other 60 times on the main tour prior to Saturday’s exhibition match, with Djokovic holding a narrow 31-29 edge.

Their last encounter came during the Paris Olympics on the same Roland Garros courts where Nadal won 14 French Open titles, though Djokovic triumphed easily 6-1, 6-4.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal

“Thank you Novak for everything for all the moments we shared on court during our careers. It’s been an amazing rivalry,” said Nadal, whose men’s record of winning 22 Grand Slam titles was broken by Djokovic.

“In a personal way, you helped me go over my limits during almost 15 years. Without that, I wouldn’t be the player I am today. Congratulations for all the titles and amazing career to you and your team. I wish you all the best of luck for the future,” he added

After losing to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets during his first match at the Saudi exhibition on Thursday, Nadal acknowledged his fitness level was well off the tour’s top players.

French Open and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz was set to take on Australian Open and US Open winner Jannik Sinner in the “Six Kings Slam” final later Saturday.

Saudi Arabia’s push into tennis took off last year with its first ATP Tour event – the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah – and exhibition matches pitting Djokovic against Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka against Ons Jabeur.

The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced in April that Riyadh would host the next three editions of the Tour Finals featuring the top eight singles players and doubles teams.

The 2024 edition will be staged from November 2nd to 9th.

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