By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Photograph credit score: Mike McNulty/Getty for ITF Davis Cup
Champions come and go.
Legends stay eternally.
Extra: TC Suspends Jon Wertheim
Earlier than an adoring house crowd serenading him with chants of “Rafa! Rafa!”, 38-year-old Spanish celebrity Rafael Nadal obtained a heroic send-off in his ultimate skilled occasion at Davis Cup in Malaga, Spain in the present day.
Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp defeated Nadal 6-4, 6-4 within the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s ultimate singles match.
Wesley Koolhof and Van de Zandschulp stopped Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers 7-6(4), 7-6(3) clinching The Netherlands 2-1 Davis Cup quarterfinal conquest of Spain and ending Nadal’s storied profession.
Former world No. 1 Nadal spoke with gratitude about his profession and grew emotional when a tribute video was performed on the massive display screen.
Grand Slam champions together with Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Serena Williams and Juan Martin del Potro paid tribute to Nadal, expressing precisely what he means to tennis and to them personally.
Afterward, Nadal was requested the legacy he hopes to go away.
The king of clay mentioned he hopes individuals will sum up his legacy in three phrases: A very good individual.
The proprietor of 92 profession championships mentioned being a very good individual is extra essential to him than being an excellent champion.
“On the finish of the day, being trustworthy, lots of people work laborious, lots of people attempt their finest each single day,” Nadal instructed the group in Malaga. “However I’m one in every of these that I’ve been very fortunate that the life gave me the chance to stay unforgettable experiences due to tennis.
“I simply need to be keep in mind as a very good individual and as a child that adopted their goals and achieved greater than what I ever dreamed.”
