Novak Djokovic confirms Nadal's withdrawal from Indian Wells signals the end of an era
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On February 22, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic met on the flight from Madrid to Indian Wells. The two players were on their way prepare for the first Masters 1000 of the year that was due to take place in early March.
Djokovic will debut this Saturday against Aleksander Vukic, however Nadal was left out of the tournament after injury forced him to withdraw just a few hours before his opening match against Milos Raonic.
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The Serbian was asked about the disappointment of Nadal withdrawing from the tournament, although in response he was rather more circumspect than most anticipated.
“It’s unfortunate for the tournament that Rafa had to sit out,” Djokovic declared.
“He has done his best to be fit. Federer has retired and both Nadal and I won’t be playing much more. It is the end of an era.
“We must remember the good moments, matches and all the records achieved.
The current world number one was speaking with a degree of authority on the previous era of tennis, given the fact that on Monday March 18 he will double the number of weeks Nadal spent at the top of the ATP ranking: 418 to 209.
Nadal and Djokovic will be remembered as one of the greatest rivalries
To find the last time that the two most decorated players in history, in terms of titles, competed in the same tournament, you have to go back to the 2023 edition of the Australian Open.
With 24 and 22 majors, respectively, ‘Nole’ and Rafa have starred in one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history with 59 tournament wins between them.
Djokovic pulled just ahead of Nadal recently, moving to 30 titles compared to Nadal’s 29, meanwhile their last encounter against each other in tournament play was as far back as the 2022 Roland Garros quarter-final.
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