PARIS (AP) — Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray showed up at the French Open on Sunday to participate in a ceremony honoring 14-time tournament champion Rafael Nadal, symbolizing the approaching end of a golden era in men’s tennis.
“To have my three biggest rivals there, in the court with me, meant a lot, no? And at the same time, it’s a great message for the world that the … toughest rivalries probably in the history of our sport are able to be good colleagues, to respect each other. You don’t need to hate the opponent to try to beat him with all your forces,” Nadal said at a news conference later. “And that’s the message that I think we showed people, we showed the new generations, and in some way that’s our legacy.”
During the tribute to Nadal, a video played showing those three rivals of his — 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 said in the taped segment, and then he, Federer and Djokovic walked out together.
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.
He didn’t know for sure they would be there, but he suspected they would. (Djokovic is entered in the French Open and is scheduled to play his first match on Tuesday.)
“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.
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.
“They represent a very important part of my tennis career, because in some way, we pushed each other to the limits. … Always, one of that four was winning the tournament,” Nadal said. “So that, to put it in perspective, never allowed us to stay relaxed or to give us a break in terms of intensity, in terms of the determination (to) keep improving our game.”
Meantimed, Ben Shelton beat Lorenzo Sonego for the second straight time at a Grand Slam this year, winning 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 under floodlights to reach the second round of the French Open on Sunday, May 25.
The 13th-seeded American celebrated by eagerly waving his racket to the fans.
“I thought the crowd was great, it was my first time here on Court Philippe-Chatrier and it definitely won’t be one that I forget,” Shelton said at shortly after midnight, adding that he didn’t expect to sleep until “three or four” in the morning.
Shelton’s girlfriend, Trinity Rodman — who plays for the U.S. women’s soccer team and is the daughter of former NBA star Dennis Rodman — and Shelton’s father, Bryan Shelton, who is also his coach, applauded from the stands.
Shelton beat Sonego in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open. Sonego was going well this time, but Shelton broke to lead 2-1 in the fourth set and turned the match around.
Shelton took a medical timeout at the end of that set for treatment on his left ankle. He clinched victory with a sliced backhand that a full-stretch Sonego patted into the net.
Earlier Sunday, Lorenzo Musetti and Aryna Sabalenka eased into the second round without dropping a set.
The eighth-seeded Musetti won 7-5, 6-2, 6-0 against qualifier Yannick Hanfmann of Germany, after the top-ranked Sabalenka earlier beat Kamilla Rakhimova 6-1, 6-0.
Jasmine Paolini, last year’s runner-up at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon, had a tougher first-round match. The fourth-seeded Italian dropped serve five times in a 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 win against Yuan Yue on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Musetti has reached at least the semifinals in the past three Masters tournaments at Rome, Madrid and Monte Carlo, where he lost in the final to four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz.
The 23-year-old Musetti reached the semifinals on grass at Wimbledon last year, but has not reached the quarterfinals at any other major.
Still, he believes he can win the French Open.
