Rafa Nadal's dream is over. Today, Tuesday, the legendary Spanish tennis player bid farewell to the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, a tournament he won five times, after losing, in the round of 16, to young Czech Jiri Lehka, with a score of 5-7, 4-6.
A match full of strong emotions for Nadal, who has already revealed his difficulties in victories over Darwin Blanche, Alex de Minaur and Pedro Cachin. Tonight he no longer has the strength to face Lehica, who is ranked 31st in the ATP rankings.
At the end of the match, with the entire crowd standing, including coach Diego Simeone, Nadal was able to hold back his tears, but Lehica cried. The experienced Spanish tennis player, who is spending the last season of his career, even joked about the situation, having already said that this is the last Madrid Masters tournament of his career.
“I was joking, I'll come back next year,” Nadal joked, sparking laughter from the stands.
Most importantly, Nadal left sincere words as he bid farewell to a tournament that he says is more important than any Grand Slam he has participated in.
“The only thing I can do is thank you. It's been an amazing journey that I started when I was very young. The first time I played in Madrid was in 2003. The first time I was competitive was in 2005. That was one of my best wins. Since then, I have always felt the affection of the Madrid fans. I can only thank you,” he said at the end of the match.
Championship honors for Rafael Nadal:
“Food fanatic. Organizer. Hipster-friendly tv specialist. Avid reader. Devoted web ninja.”
