Andy Roddick praised Rafael Nadal as “an absolute gentleman” and added he could be thrilled and proud if he ever noticed his youngsters making an attempt to repeat the Spanish tennis icon in something.
Because the begin till the top of his profession, the 38-year-old remained the identical as his colleagues and followers spoke about him the identical approach for 20 years. From very early in his profession, the Spaniard received himself a status of being the most important competitor and fighter on the market. And his type of play introduced him main success and finally led to him ending with 22 Grand Slam titles.
For somebody on this place, one might assume that Nadal could be cocky and boastful. However he was the exact opposite of that as he was usually described because the kindest and most respectful individual towards anybody he met.
And due to that, the Spaniard went down as one of many best gamers ever but in addition as one of many largest ambassadors and likable gamers ever.
Roddick, who has nine-year-old son Hank and seven-year-old daughter Stevie, would don’t have anything towards his youngsters had a Nadal-like persona.
“An absolute gentleman. If my kids ever try to imitate anything that Rafael Nadal did, I would be beaming with pride. The way he went about it, the way he treated people, the way he had time for everyone. In his bad mood, he will still look you in the eye and say, ‘Hello!’ and that’s before we even get to what he did on court. The way he fought, the way he went about his business, the way he completely transformed tennis with his ability to create spin and power and speed and all the sudden you put all of the things together,” the American tennis legend mentioned on the Served with Andy Roddick.
Nadal had a low-key farewell and saved it as humble as potential
After the report 14-time French Open champion introduced he picked the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga because the place the place he wished to retire, there was hope Spain might go all the best way and ship out the 38-year-old with one final title.
On the day of the Spain and Netherlands quarterfinal tie, it was confirmed that Nadal would play singles. To the frustration of the locals but in addition nearly all of followers, the previous world No. 1 seemed removed from his finest and received routed by Botic van de Zandschulp in straight units.
After the Netherlands accomplished a 2-1 victory over Spain, the 38-year-old acquired a specail ceremony however nothing too fancy. And after taking the microphone, Nadal humbly described himself as a small village child who achieved his goals.
“The title, the numbers are there, so the people probably know that. I would like to be remembered as a good person from a small village in Majorca. I had the luck. My uncle was a tennis coach in my village when I was a small kid, and I had a great family that supported me in every single moment. Just a kid who followed their dream and worked as hard as possible to be what I am today,” a teary Nadal said.
“At the end of the day, a lot of people work hard and try their best every single day, but I’m one of the very lucky ones that life gave me an opportunity to live an unforgettable experience due to tennis. So, I just want to be remembered as a good person, a kid who followed their dreams and achieved more than they dreamed.”
Rafael Nadal© Tenis Espana/Instagram – Fair Use
Roddick: Nadal made Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic better
When the Spaniard introduced himself in a big way in 2005, Federer was regarded as the best and most dominant player on the Tour. Then, Djokovic also came and that’s how the Big Three happened and their stunning total of 66 Grand Slam titles.
Roddick, who lost four Grand Slam finals to Federer, thinks the Swiss and the Serb would not be what they became if not for Nadal and vice versa.
“These guys, the reason they were so great is because they would look across the net and see parts of themselves across the net and know that they had to get better. Rafa was a massive part about that. He created a hell of an impossible puzzle for a long time and did it in simply a decent way all the time,” the 2003 US Open champion defined.
Earlier than the beginning of the Davis Cup Finals, Nadal highlighted that he was at peace along with his retirement choice as a result of he gave all of it and his physique merely could not do it anymore. Now, the 38-year-old will in all probability focus extra on his household however stay related with tennis by means of his academy.
