Nadal's snub of Belgrade Open justified by looming retirement

Novak Djokovic’s brother Djordje Djokovic has revealed that he invited former world number one Rafael Nadal to participate in the Belgrade Open. The ATP 250 event is currently taking place in Belgrade, where players are battling to secure the ultimate prize and finish the season on a high.

As per the recent report, Djokovic’s brother Djordje has confirmed that he invited Nadal to participate in the competition but his camp rejected the idea. The 38-year-old, who is regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, has already announced his retirement from the sport after the upcoming Davis Cup.

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One of the reasons behind his decision not to take part in the Belgrade Open is to ensure that he will be fit enough to play in the Davis Cup, where he is set to represent his country in the quarterfinals against the Netherlands. The competition is going to be an special one as it will be played in Spain where thousands are expected to turn up and watch one of the greatest men’s players ever to have played the game for the one final time.

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Nadal has struggled with fitness concerns in the recent past. He suffered a serious hip injury, which forced him to stay out of action for nearly 12 months. The 22-time Grand Slam winner returned to the court earlier this year but has failed to deliver consistent performances. It became increasingly clear that Nadal has not managed to recover completely from the injury he sustained last year. Because of this, the former world number one only managed to participate in one Grand Slam this year. He featured in the French Open, where he has lifted the title for a record 14 times, but was knocked out after losing in the first round to the reigning world number two Germany’s Alexander Zverev.