Tennis Nadal fights one last time against Djokovic in Saudi Arabia | The mighty 790 KFGO

(Reuters) – Rafa Nadal will have one last chance to face his old rival Novak Djokovic before the Spaniard calls time on his illustrious career and the pair meet at the Six Kings Slam tournament in Saudi Arabia.

Nadal lost 6-3, 6-3 to Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals on Thursday, setting up a third-place match against the Serb, led by Jannik Sinner 6-2, 6-7(0), 6-4 was beaten.

World number one Sinner will face Alcaraz in the final in Riyadh, where the winner will take home $6 million.

“Having Novak in front of me is like a nostalgic thing,” Nadal told reporters. “We have played against each other a lot, so it will be fun to play against each other again in this game.”

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who announced his retirement last week, faced Djokovic in 60 matches – the most in men’s tennis – and triumphed 29 times to the Serb’s 31.

The last time Nadal faced 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic was in the second round of the Paris Olympics, where he lost 6-1, 6-4.

Nadal, who also partnered with Alcaraz in men’s doubles at the Games, could do so again at the Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga from November 19-24.

“Emotionally, I’m sure I’ll be ready,” said the 38-year-old. “Physically and in terms of tennis level, we still have a month to prepare. If I don’t feel ready for the singles, I’ll be the first to say so and see if I can help in any way.”

Nadal said that Alcaraz was doing well in his career and did not need much advice from him.

“He has a great team, a great family,” he added. “He will do very well with what he has. He is constantly learning.

“We can see that he is developing in every way. But of course I’m always available if he wants to call me.”

(Reporting by Angelica Medina in Mexico City; Editing by Peter Rutherford)