After the disappointing elimination in opposition to Holland within the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga, Spain captain David Ferrer talked at a press convention about Rafael Nadal’s tennis farewell. The 22-time Grand Slam champion performed the final match of his superb profession enjoying for his nation, combating for each ball, however shedding in straight units to Botic van de Zandschulp.
It will likely be troublesome for everybody, from followers to his rivals on the court docket, to think about tennis with out Rafael Nadal. Everybody wished to pay tribute to the legendary Spaniard, from opponents, to tournaments, to followers. And Ferrer’s phrases – who stated with Nadal a particular particular person for the game is gone – sum all of it up, I feel.
“Saying goodbye to Rafa is very sad, a very special person in the world of sport is leaving, but he will always be remembered. Beyond the friendship we have, he is a player who has been all over the world and has left his mark. Now it’s a bit strange, we are focused on the Davis Cup, but when you lose everything goes back to normal. The important thing is that Rafa leaves happy, proud and calm, being privileged. A person so great, with such respect and humility towards everyone, is difficult to find,” defined the previous ATP No.3
Carlos Alcaraz & Rafael Nadal, Davis Cup Finals 2024© Stream screenshot
The previous Spanish tennis participant analyzed how every participant experiences retirement otherwise, and in his case he dealt with it very effectively. As for Rafa, Ferrer thinks that his countryman will even take it effectively, he can be glad, as a result of he’s curious and has many issues to do, stressing that Nadal is a good ambassador and that he’ll like to remain near this world.
“He won’t travel very much because he’s very familiar, but he’ll remain very connected to this world. It’s not like someone who retires and doesn’t know what to do, he’ll continue to have a full schedule, almost as if he were still a professional tennis player, but with a different facet,” he added.
The Spain captain then defined that he selected to have Rafa play as a result of his legendary countryman had been bettering bodily day-to-day, so on Monday Ferrer had determined that Rafa would play singles and Marcel Granollers would play doubles.
“Then I decided that Carlos would play doubles with Marcel. It’s not easy because I had several options, like Roberto Bautista, but in the end I bet on them for this first round,” he stated.
