{"id":261163,"date":"2026-01-31T15:24:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T15:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/261163\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T15:24:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T15:24:10","slug":"rafael-nadal-makes-novak-djokovic-feelings-clear-as-spaniard-returns-to-australian-open-tennis-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/261163\/","title":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal makes Novak Djokovic feelings clear as Spaniard returns to Australian Open | Tennis | Sport"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Rafael<\/p>\n

Rafael Nadal is back at the Australian Open for the first time since he retired in late 2024 (Image: Getty) This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/a> <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been a throwback Australian Open this year. Roger Federer<\/a> turned up ahead of the tournament to play an exhibition match<\/a> in the inaugural Opening Ceremony, Novak Djokovic<\/a> has returned to the final here for the first time since 2023, and now Rafael Nadal<\/a> is back in Melbourne Park.<\/p>\n

The Spanish superstar, who lifted the trophy here in 2009 and 2022, is a Kia ambassador, and the car manufacturer also sponsors the Aussie Open. Nadal headed Down Under to mark Kia\u2019s 25th anniversary, and will take part in the AO Night of Legends<\/a> event on Sunday, ahead of the men\u2019s singles final.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been more than a year since Nadal retired at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals, but one of his greatest rivals, Djokovic, is still going strong and is through to Sunday\u2019s final to face Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>. This is the Serbian superstar\u2019s first Grand Slam final since Wimbledon 2024, and his first Down Under in three years.<\/p>\n

Aged 38, Djokovic clinched a heroic victory at 1.30am local time in the early hours of Saturday, beating Jannik Sinner<\/a> 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-4 in four hours and nine minutes. Sinner was the two-time reigning champion here, and his last previous loss came in the fourth round in 2023.<\/p>\n

During his on-court interview, Djokovic said he was \u201creminiscing\u201d about<\/a> his historic five-hour and 53-minute win over Nadal in the 2012 final. And Nadal has now had his say on his old rival\u2019s incredible win.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI really believe that he is here for one simple reason – because if I don\u2019t get injured, probably I will be here playing, too. When you like to do this thing, if you are not injured and if you are not, I mean, super tired mentally, why wouldn\u2019t you be here?\u201d the 39-year-old Spaniard told The Age<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a positive example of commitment, of resilience\u2026 I mean, Novak, for obvious reasons, he\u2019s not at his prime, but he is still very, very competitive at an age that is difficult to be very competitive. So, full respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Novak<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic beat two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner to return to the Australian Open final (Image: Getty)<\/p>\n

However, Nadal is backing his countryman, Alcaraz, to come out on top in Sunday\u2019s final. The 22-year-old also needed five sets to beat Alexander Zverev on Friday, coming through 6-4 7-6 6-7 6-7 7-5 in five hours and 27 minutes<\/a> – the longest semi-final in tournament history<\/p>\n

Nadal, a 22-time Major winner, believes Alcaraz has age on his side when it comes to recovery. And he\u2019d also rather see his compatriot, and doubles partner at the 2024 Olympics, claim the title.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m sure he will recover even if it has been a long battle, the other semi-final wasn\u2019t a short battle either. I think Carlos has more possibilities of recovering almost better than Novak,\u201d the 39-year-old said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Novak wins, I will be happy for him because in some ways, it is spectacular what he\u2019s doing at this stage of his career. So I will be happy, it will not be a drama for me. But if I have to support someone, I feel I have to support Carlos.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rafael Nadal is back at the Australian Open for the first time since he retired in late 2024…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":261164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[143051,139730,11912,111,139,65954,69,71429,213,11917],"class_list":{"0":"post-261163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-aus-open","9":"tag-australian-open","10":"tag-carlos-alcaraz","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-novak-djokovic","14":"tag-nz","15":"tag-rafael-nadal","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-tennis-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=261163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/261163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/261164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=261163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=261163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=261163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}