Playing against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic were some of the most special moments of professional tennis career, reveals Thomaz Bellucci

Former tennis player Thomaz Bellucci has revealed that playing against the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are a few of the special moments during his tennis career that he cherishes.

Bellucci retired from professional tennis after his campaign at the 2023 Rio Open came to a close. He suffered a first-round defeat against Sebastian Baez in straight sets in front of his home-crowd as the Brazilian bid farewell to the sport.

In a conversation on the ATP Tennis Radio podcast, Bellucci reflected on his 18-year long career. He reminisced about the sacrifices he made to become a professional player.

"Tennis has been part of my life... like I've been travelling so much for the last 20 years. Like missing all my parties with my friends, the birthdays of families, friends. So, I gave up a lot of moments in my life to be a professional tennis player," he said.

He shared that his quarterfinal matchup against Nadal at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, with thousands of home fans cheering for him, gifted him one of the most "special moments" of his career.

"Just one [favorite memory]... maybe, the Olympic games in Rio, 2016. I was in the quarterfinals. So, I played against Nadal. So, there was around 10,000 people cheering for me. So, I think that was one of the most special moments of my career," expressed Bellucci.

The quarterfinal face-off witnessed the former World No. 1 outclass the Brazilian in three sets.

Meanwhile, Belucci's treasured moment on the ATP tour came when he faced another 22-time Grand Slam champion in Djokovic at the 2011 ATP Masters 1000 semifinals in Madrid.

"[Favorite memory] in the ATP tour... in 2011, against Djokovic in Madrid semifinals," the 35-year-old conveyed.

Djokovic defeated the former World No. 21 in three sets in that match and the Serb eventually went on to win the title.

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Rafael Nadal down to No. 8 and Novak Djokovic claims record breaking 378th week as No. 1 in latest ATP rankings

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Rafael Nadal has been out of action since his second-round defeat against Mackenzie McDonald at the 2023 Australian Open and his continued absence has pushed him lower down the rankings. He is now ranked No. 8 and his prolonged stay in the top 10 since 2005 looks well under threat.

Meanwhile, Djokovic began his 378th week as World No. 1, overtaking Steffi Graf's record of 377 weeks at the top.

Djokovic will next be in action at the Dubai Tennis Championship, which is set to commence on February 27. Nadal's return to tour is still unknown as he is yet to fully recover from his hip injury.