Rafa Nadal received tribute from the world’s main mediadespite the fact that confirmation of his permanent retirement from tennis came after midnight. The Netherlands eliminated Spain from the Davis Cup and thus ended the sporting career of the best Spanish athlete of all time. Many newspapers had to change their coverage to give Spanish the space it deserved.
The Team He wanted to once again dedicate his cover to the tennis player who has won Roland Garros the most times. “Final Tears”this was the title that the French wanted to dedicate to Rafa Nadal for whom they feel enormous respect after winning their most illustrious tournament 14 times. “Rafael Nadal, a giant on earth who has been at the top of his game for twenty years,” they added in their tribute.
Another French newspaper renowned as The World He also wanted to give him love in his column with sentences like “The final whistle will have left the 9,700 spectators present at the Malaga Sports Palace wanting more, and orphan from the tennis world. But the Gauls also criticized Rafa’s recent situation. “On Tuesday night, Nadal was nothing more than a flickering shadow of the giant he once was,” they concluded.
In Italy, La Gazzetta du Sport He wrote a most moving chronicle of it, focusing on: “Bitter farewell. But the public turns to the legend: “Rafa! Rafa!” say the transalpines. “The ‘Vamos Rafa’ is lowered, adopted by an entire people who embodied the desire for improvement of this islander driven by fierce determination, the ‘Thank you Rafa’ is raised,” they declared.
For his part, the New York Times He focuses his column on the end of an era known as Big three with Federer, Nadal and Djokovic as the protagonists. “His rivalries with Federer and Djokovic, known as the Big three, led to some of the most memorable and highest quality matches in tennis history“, they stressed.
Finally, the British newspaper Tutor wanted to pay tribute to Rafa Nadal with the phrase that “the last stage of this epic journey that began 30 years ago, a moment he never wanted to come to but had no choice but to face. “Rafa, you will be eternal,” they concluded.
