I lived the farewell between sadness and joy of seeing him once again. Happy endings only exist in Hollywood. On a sporting level it couldn’t be but it doesn’t cloud the fact that it was a more than well-deserved farewell. The result was important, but the farewell to the idol, to the legend, was more important. People wanted to see him one more time, and they preferred to see him even if he lost, than not to see him again. Because he is a sports icon. An athlete at the level of the greats, who crosses barriers, are global, and reaches a social level. With a total impact. That is part of his greatness. He has gotten inside people because of those values that are for everyone: humility, always keeping a low profile, perseverance, effort, camaraderie. He has managed to convey all that through his game, and everyone feels a little reflected in him. He is not just a tennis player, but an example. It is the greatest legacy he has been able to leave: a stratospheric record of achievements and, in addition, being a good person, as he said he wanted to be remembered. But he has far surpassed that: he has been a teacher. If he ran for President of the Government, he would be elected, regardless of ideologies. We crossed paths little as tennis players, but we did when I started training other players. He was always a very calm boy, with very moderate tastes and very close to his people, his group, and flaunting that humility. Always very close. He had an exquisite relationship with me with anecdotes that mark you. My son loves tennis and wanted to go to training. I asked Rafa if I could go see him train with Bellucci, and he said he would be delighted. My son was running around, acting as a ball boy, and then they took photos, always affectionate and close. It wasn’t something imposed, it came out that way. He will continue to contribute a lot to tennis, sport and society. Although there will be a void. The clay season will arrive, Roland Garros, and it will be strange not to talk about Rafael Nadal. It was our routine for twenty years. It’s like we’re missing something, like something has been taken away from us. We will miss that void, but we will remember it for what it was. An extraordinary person and an extraordinary tennis player.
#Pato #Clavet #extraordinary #person #extraordinary #tennis #player
