Rafael Nadal issued a short but heartfelt reply to the classy tribute he received from his great rival Novak Djokovic following his retirement.
The legendary Spaniard was beaten by Botic van de Zandschulp in the final match of his remarkable career at the Davis Cup Final 8 stage this week. Spain lost 2-1 to the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the team competition in Malaga.
Following Nadal's 6-4, 6-4 defeat to the Dutch No 2, Carlos Alcaraz overcame Tallon Greikspoor to take the tie to a deciding doubles contest.
Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers then fell to the Dutch duo of van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof, with the loss confirming Nadal's retirement.
Djokovic joined forces with Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Serena Williams, as well as some football legends, for a video tribute that was played during Nadal's on-court farewell ceremony after Spain's loss.
Prior to his Davis Cup goodbye, Nadal had not played a competitive singles match since losing to Djokovic in the second round of the Paris Olympics in July. That match was the 60th and last match in the legendary duo's epic rivalry.
Djokovic sent another heartfelt message to Nadal in a video shared on the Davis Cup social media accounts.
In a post on his Instagram story sharing Djokovic's tribute, Nadal thanked the Serbian for his warm words.
"Thank you from the bottom of my heart," the 38-year-old wrote, adding a heart emoji.
Here is Djokovic's message to Nadal in full:
"Rafa. First all, congratulations on your amazing career. Your family, your team, yourself should be extremely proud of everything that you have achieved throughout your career that lasted for more than 20 years. In the tennis locker room, we will miss your warmups, your sprints, your jumps, your incredibly competitive parchis, the games that you had with your team before your matches.
"We had a lot of fun times, sharing the locker room and, you know, I just hope that today, even though it is a sad day for tennis â€" even though it is a sad day for Spain and sport in general, that you are retiring â€" at the same time, I hope that everyone will celebrate your career because there is so much to embrace, so much to celebrate.
"I think, more importantly - and you would agree with this - is the the mark that you left behind in terms of the connection with the people, in terms of how you inspired millions of children around the world to grab a tennis racket. How you conveyed your passion and love for the game, how you carried yourself on the court. How you showed respect to your opponents, to the entire tennis ecosystem throughout the course of your entire career.
"Your tenacity, your fighting spirit, the energy that you brought every single time, the strength, the power, is something that will be studied and is something that will be transferred to many, many generations that are coming up and aspiring to be like you as a person and as a great tennis champion. I've been very honoured and thrilled to be called your rival over the last, almost 20 years, we've played more than 60 matches. I have learned so much in our encounters and thank you very much for also making me the player that I am and that I was over the last 20 years
"The tennis world and the sports world will miss the incredible energy that you brought on the court. My friend, I wish you the very best of luck with your charity foundation, with your family, with your Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy that continues to thrive, that continues to spread around the world where you will be able to spread the experiences and the knowledge and the passion and love you have for the game to the younger generation. Thank you very much and good luck my friend."
