Djokovic criticizes Rafa Nadal's farewell ceremony: "It wasn't the right one, I was going to go Friday"

IIt's been almost two months, but Rafael Nadal's farewell ceremony which took place on November 19 at the Martin Carpena Pavilion in Malaga The end of the Davis Cup quarter-final between Spain and the Netherlands is still going well. Nadal was unable to hang up his racket with a victory after losing in the first singles match to Botic van de Zandschulp

The organizers, after consulting the Balearic legend, decided to improvise a tribute in the early hours of Tuesday morning with half-empty stands, with unpublished videos, such as those of Messi and Pau Gasol, and without personalities who marked the career of the best Spanish sportsman in history.

Criticism rained in, some coming from Rafa's team, such as his coach Carlos Moya, who described the ceremony as “sloppy and shabby”.

From Australia, Novak Djokovic spoke, who had planned to be present on Friday November 22 in Malaga, the day initially planned to bid farewell to Rafa from tennis.

Murray and I had to go, I'm sorry I couldn't make it.

Novak Djokovic

“I don't know the in-depth details, but I saw the video and the farewell ceremony they gave to Rafa was not the right one. Murray and I were planning to go there on Friday, after the semi-finals. I don't know. I know if Nadal didn't want too much noise so that it wouldn't have an impact on the other teams, on the matches… I don't know if Rafa was clear. 'he was going to play and maybe afterwards it was case too late to organize something bigger, I feel bad not to be there.

Novak is happy to have shared the court with his biggest rival twice in the year of his retirement: “It was nice to share the field in Riyadh and we also played in the Paris Games“The tennis player from Belgrade will seek a place in the third round of the Australian Open against Portuguese Jaime Faria on Wednesday.