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.

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.

Novak Djokovic now holds another Grand Slam record as he officially surpassed fellow tennis legend Roger Federer on Wednesday when he played the 430th major match in his career. After Djokovic's first-round match at the Australian Open on Monday,

Novak Djokovic feels ‘blessed’ to break a record previously held by fellow tennis legend Roger Federer at the 2025 Australian Open. Djokovic defeated Jaime Faria 6-1 6-7 6-3 6-2 in the second round on Wednesday to continue his quest for a historic 25th major singles title,

Melbourne: Novak Djokovic dropped a set but regrouped to reach the Australian Open third round on Wednesday and in doing so surpass fellow great Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam singles matches played.

Novak Djokovic has become the latest prominent figure in tennis to criticize the handling of Rafael Nadal's retirement ceremony.