An emotional Rafael Nadal was celebrated at Roland-Garros as the 2025 French Open got underway 20 years after just his second win on the famous clay.
The Spaniard was hailed by thousands, including legendary former players Roger Federer and Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic, the final member of the ‘big four’ joined in the party in Paris.
In the tournament’s main stadium came on May 25, 2005 — Nadal clinched a straight-set victory in the second round against Xavier Malisse. That made Nadal’s career record in the tournament 2-0, and he was just getting started on the way to what would end up as a 112-4 mark and 14 championships at Paris.
Back on Court Philippe-Chatrier, instead of competing, Nadal was feted by the French tennis federation for all that he accomplished on the red clay.
During the tribute to Nadal, a video played showing his three rivals — 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 in the taped segment, and then he, Federer and Djokovic walked out together onto the clay court.
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.
“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.
“After all these years fighting for everything, it’s unbelievable how time changes the perspective of everything,” Nadal told them. “You don’t know yet, Novak. Probably you know already, Andy. With Roger, we have talked about it a couple times. All of the nerves, pressure, strange feelings you feel when we see each other when we are rivals — it’s completely different when you finish your career.”
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.
“We showed the world that we can fight as hard as possible, but being good colleagues and respecting each other very well. And for me, it means a lot that you are all here,” Nadal said. “You gave me some hard times on court, honestly, but I really enjoyed pushing myself to the limit every single day to compete with all of you.”
AP contributed to this report
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