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Rafael Nadal has declared that he will retire from professional tennis after the Davis Cup
Spain’s Rafael Nadal gestures to the public as he leaves the court after losing against Germany’s Alexander Zverev in their men’s singles match on Court Philippe-Chatrier on day two of The French Open tennis tournament at The Roland Garros Complex in Paris on May 27, 2024. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP)
New Delhi: Retiring tennis superstar Rafael Nadal will receive a special farewell from Davis Cup at its November final eight, the tournament’s director Feliciano Lopez disclosed on Tuesday.
Nadal is part of the Spanish side that will compete in the tournament finals in Malaga from November 19. The 22-time Grand Slam champion had earlier announced his intention to retire after the Davis Cup.
“It’s confidential of course, but we’re planning to do something very special for him, we have to celebrate his career and his legacy,” Lopez said while speaking reporters, as quoted by AFP.
“There’s a lot of things that we’re planning but for now I cannot share any more details with you, but we’re planning something very special.
“We are going to try and live up to his legacy and his enormous career and I hope we’re going to do something very special for him.”
Lopez added that Davis Cup is fortunate to be Nadal’s final tournament and said it is keen to commemorate his decorated with a fitting farewell, having received calls from many sportspersons who are eager to witness the left hander in action one last time.
Demand for tickets soar
“I know that almost everyone in the world wants to be present for his farewell… Novak Djokovic posted on Instagram that he wants to be there, also Andy Murray wants to be there,” he said.
“I don’t know if we’re gonna have seats for everyone, but as you can imagine all the tennis players that played in his time, they want to be there.
“Other athletes from different sports, of course from Spain and everywhere in the world, they want to be there as well, so it’s going to be very special for Rafa.”
Tickets for Spain’s quarter-final clash against the Netherlands have been sold out. Lopez welcomed the demand that he said could fill up two stadiums.
He downplayed talks of Nadal’s retirement overshadowing the tournament’s finale, adding that the player himself was keen to avoid it being the case..
“The Davis Cup itself is so important and I don’t think this celebration is going to overshadow the competition, especially as Rafa doesn’t want any of that,” Lopez said.
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