The Serbian regretted not being there to say goodbye to his great rival on the tennis courts. It's been almost two months, but the farewell ceremony for Rafael Nadal that took place on November 19 at the Martin Carpena pavilion in Malaga at the end of the Davis Cup quarter-final between Spain and the Netherlands is still going strong.

Novak Djokovic is the latest big name from the world of tennis to blast Rafael Nadal’s retirement ceremony. Nadal hung up his racket late last year, with his final-ever match as a professional tennis player coming at the 2024 Davis Cup finals.

The last time they met, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the 2024 Paris Olympics on the clay courts of Roland Garros (not counting the exhibition at the Six Kings Slam). Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- And then there was one: The Big Three is down to just Novak Djokovic, who stands alone from a golden generation of men’s tennis now that Rafael Nadal has joined Roger Federer in retirement.

Novak Djokovic added yet another record to his lengthy list, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam matches played in tennis history by reaching 430 on Wednesday at the Australian Open in what was a tougher-than-expected second-round victory.

After advancing to the third round of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic admitted that he was surprised to break Roger Federer's Grand Slam match record.

Novak Djokovic broke the record for the most Grand Slam singles matches played with his second-round victory over Jaime Faria at the Australian Open. Djokovic, a ten-time winner of the event, breaks a tie with former rival Roger Federer by clocking his 430th career Grand Slam encounter.