Did Djokovic overshadow Nadal in his retirement?

Mónica Barberán Munera | 2 Dec 2024 | 21.40

Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal in 2024. Photo: Getty.

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It's been two weeks since Rafa Nadal hung up his racket and bid farewell to tennis after a career of many, many successes. His farewell at the Copa Davis in Malaga was not exactly one of the most glamorous after Spain was eliminated in the quarterfinals. However, that day had to be special and unique, the day of the retirement of one of the greatest legends of tennis. Yet, his 'goodbye' was not the only weighty news on that November Tuesday. Novak Djokovic almost simultaneously announced that Andy Murray would be his new coach, a piece of news that caught everyone off guard.

So, what's the deal with that? Well, some believe that it wasn't the right time to take the spotlight away from Rafa on such a special day this late year of 2024. For instance, Andy Roddick didn't hesitate to weigh in, clearly showing his great displeasure at Djokovic's poor choice of day and time to announce such tremendous news. "I get that memes are fun, but there's nothing about this that is a joke. I don't think it's a vanity project," expressed Roddick on his podcast "Served with Andy Roddick."

"There was no reason why it was necessary to announce this"

Looking at it with perspective, perhaps Nole could have waited a bit for the storm of Nadal's farewell to pass. And not only to give the Spaniard his moment but also for himself. "Hey, is the attention fun? Is the scandal fun? Is it fun to know that you can create a storm in the tennis world and override any story? Oh, oh, oh! Rafa retires this weekend? Should we dominate the headlines at the end of that week?," Roddick ironically remarked. Thus, it's clear that for the former U.S. number 1, the Serbian didn't time it right, as "there was no reason why it was necessary to announce this, none."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, ¿Le quitó Djokovic protagonismo a Nadal en su retirada?

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