Tennis world praises Rafael Nadal’s ‘all class’ response to Djokovic’s Wimbledon triumph

Rafael Nadal has taken to social media to offer his congratulations to Novak Djokovic following his Wimbledon finals victory.

Djokovic recorded a 4-6 6-3 6-4 7-6(3) victory over Kyrgios at Centre Court on Sunday, July 10, increasing his winning streak at the club to 28 matches and claiming his fourth consecutive title at the tournament

Despite Kyrgios starting off strong in the opening set, striking 14 winners and only four unforced errors, Djokovic was able to turn the tide in the second set, racing to a 4-1 advantage in the fourth game. Djokovic was able to further his lead and take control of the match from a distracted and frustrated Kyrgios, holding a two-set-to-love lead in the third set.

A more composed Kyrgios secured a fourth-set tie but could do little to prevent Djokovic from securing his seventh career Wimbledon title.

Introducing your 2022 Wimbledon champions (a thread) ????

???? Novak Djokovic ????#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Ia50S2D6A9

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2022

Following his win, Djokovic posted a video to Instagram showing him enjoying his victory on Centre Court alongside his children. The video shows Djokovic’s children running around the court before the tennis star places his trophy down to share the “precious moment” with his family.

Djokovic’s post attracted numerous messages of congratulations from fans and public figures alike, but it was Nadal’s classy move to congratulate Djokovic, despite their on-court rivalry, that stood out.

“Wow. Great memory. Enjoy it and many congrats,” Nadal wrote in response to the video.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Novak Djokovic (@djokernole)

Nadal’s kind words attracted an overwhelming response from fans and the tennis community who praised Nadal for his brilliant display of sportsmanship.

Very subtle congrats from Rafa! I know that this one must hurt (as it does for his fans) but he has always been elegant and fair with his opponents. Including those who disrespected him. https://t.co/oh8Wtjqkte

— AM22PM (@AM22PM) July 11, 2022

Rafa is so classy, pity there aren’t more like him.

— Tennislass25 (@Tennislass25) July 11, 2022

The best thing about the comment from Rafa is ‘ejoy’. 100 percent done by him and no PR guy doing which is usually the case for most players. Probably Rafa too, otherwise.

— Ayush Bengani (@ayushbengani227) July 12, 2022

Rafa is all class

— LAURA DOLAN (@LauraDolan62) July 11, 2022

Nadal and Djokovic were on course to face off against each other in the Wimbledon final, however, Nadal was forced to withdraw from the tournament after failing to recover from an abdominal injury he sustained in his quarterfinal victory against Taylor Fritz.

“I have to pull out of the tournament as I have been suffering with pain in abdominal,” Nadal told reporters while announcing his withdrawal.

“I knew something was not okay there, [and] it’s confirmed: I have a tear in the muscle in the abdomen.

“I can’t imagine winning two matches with this [pain]. For me, the most important thing is happiness rather than the title even though everyone knows how much effort I put into this as I can’t risk being out of the sport for two to three months.

“I am very sad.”