Although it was not when and how he wanted, Rafael Nadal receives the gratitude of the entire tennis world, summed up in the feelings of the ten thousand souls that filled with warmth this Martín Carpena who freezes with the last point of the doubles and who It means a goodbye that no one wanted to come. Neither did Nadal himself. «You never want to reach this moment. I’m not tired of playing tennis, but the body has reached a point where it doesn’t want to continue playing. “You have to accept the situation.”
He accepts her as he has always accepted everything that has happened to him in life, giving his best and getting up every time he fell. “I leave with the peace of mind that in some way I have left a legacy, I feel it that way, sporting and personal because I understand that the affection around the world that I have had, if it were only for the track, it would not be the same.” And after dedicating to his family the best words that came out to him at this time when he didn’t know how he would live, he became emotional. True to himself, Nadal has always been privileged to keep a cool head in moments of tension, but he melts into passion and emotion when something touches him: he did it when Federer retired, hand in hand on the bench, He did it when the Spanish anthem played at five in the afternoon, he did it when Djokovic, Murray, Sergio García, Federer, Del Potro appeared on the screen… all his professional and non-tennis colleagues dedicating to him the words that came out of the soul, what Nadal has awakened them.
“We will miss you a lot, that ‘Come on, Rafa’ will always remain in history,” David Ferrer was also moved when he spoke. «Respect, humility, consistency. You are the best education for any tennis player. “You are the best example.”
«I am super lucky, I have done my job as a hobby and I have had a much longer career than I thought. From respect, humility, valuing good things, I have tried what is most important to me: to be a good person. I hope that’s how you perceived it. “I would like to be remembered like that, as a good person from a small town in Mallorca.”
He remembered his rivals, the sponsors who have accompanied him on his path, all the friends he has made in each tournament, the media, the sports industry, to which he gave his hand if they needed it. to continue taking tennis to the top. And also, of course, he remembered his family: «They have never failed me, they have been with me in the moments when things seemed impossible. They have kept my feet on the ground, they have never let me get up. And that makes what arrives easier to carry. There is a process coming, I don’t know if it is difficult, but I am calm because I have received an education that allows me to face what is coming with peace of mind: having done everything I could until the end.
And in this announced but no less sad ending, thank you: «It means a lot to have been able to say goodbye in Spain, in Malaga. I am more than happy and grateful for everything. Thank you all very much, really.”
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