PARIS (AP) — Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray showed up at the French Open on Sunday to participate in a ceremony honoring 14-time tournament champion Rafael Nadal, symbolizing the approaching end of a golden era in men's tennis.
“To have my three biggest rivals there, in the court with me, meant a lot, no? And at the same time, it’s a great message for the world that the ... toughest rivalries probably in the history of our sport are able to be good colleagues, to respect each other. You don’t need to hate the opponent to try to beat him with all your forces,” Nadal said at a news conference later. “And that’s the message that I think we showed people, we showed the new generations, and in some way that’s our legacy.”
During the tribute to Nadal, a video played showing those three rivals of his — together, the quartet with a combined 69 Grand Slam titles came to be known as the Big Four.
“We couldn’t let you leave like this,” Murray said in the taped segment, and then he, Federer and Djokovic walked out together.
Nadal, who turns 39 next month and retired after last season, went over to them and gave each a hug. They all patted him on the back.
He didn't know for sure they would be there, but he suspected they would. (Djokovic is entered in the French Open and is scheduled to play his first match on Tuesday.)
“At the end, now, it’s all about being happy about everything that we achieved,” Nadal said. “At the end, all of us achieved our dreams."
Federer, now 43, played his last match in 2021 and announced his retirement the following year. Murray, who turned 38 this month, retired after participating in the Paris Olympics last year and briefly coached Djokovic this season. Djokovic, who turned 38 on Thursday and won his 100th career title on Saturday, is the only member of the group still active on tour.
Djokovic has won the most Grand Slam titles for a man, 24. Nadal is next on the list with 22, followed by Federer with 20. Murray won three.
Nadal and Djokovic played each other 60 times, the most matches between two men in the Open era of tennis, which began in 1969. Djokovic led the series 31-29, taking their final encounter in the second round of the Paris Olympics last year, although Nadal led 8-2 in French Open matchups.
Nadal led Federer 24-16, including 6-0 at Roland-Garros. Nadal led Murray 17-7.
“They represent a very important part of my tennis career, because in some way, we pushed each other to the limits. ... Always, one of that four was winning the tournament,” Nadal said. “So that, to put it in perspective, never allowed us to stay relaxed or to give us a break in terms of intensity, in terms of the determination (to) keep improving our game.”
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AP Sports Writer Jerome Pugmire contributed.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP’s tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: https://apnews.com/author/howard-fendrich. More AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
