"A touch of bitterness" Press comments on the end of Nadal's career
The Spanish tennis legend's career ends with a defeat. His legacy will not be tarnished by this, write international newspapers. But a touch of bitterness remains.
No time? blue Sport summarizes for you
- Rafael Nadal's great tennis career is over. The Spanish superstar played the last match of his impressive career at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
- The 38-year-old lost his singles match against the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 4:6, 4:6 and thus initiated the surprising defeat of the hosts.
- However, the international press is by no means harsh on Nadal for this.
Spain 🇪🇸
"Mundo deportivo":"His legacy remains regardless of (the result in) Malaga. Thank you, Rafa. Forever and ever. (...) He leaves behind an indelible legacy."
"El País":"Paradoxically, Nadal leaves as he started (...): With a defeat. Sometimes great stories begin and end in the opposite way."
"La Vanguardia": "This is a strange farewell. Nadal is saying goodbye in the match, exactly as he intended. But he does it under adverse circumstances, defeated by Botic van de Zandschulp, and thus puts a strain on the Spanish team. Yes, it's a strange epilogue. And the climax is tarnished."
"Marca":"If you look back on his career, you also look back on a story of perseverance: Rafa, who since his beginnings in the elite also knew how to deal with numerous injuries and had to assert himself in a competition of giants against behemoths like Djokovic and Federer. Because Rafa was many things: a man of flesh and blood, approachable and human (...). He was unique. He was Rafa."
Switzerland 🇨🇭
"NZZ":"His body paid the price for his self-sacrificing style of play - with Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest is retiring from the tennis court. (...) With 14 titles at Roland-Garros, he will forever be remembered as the clay king of Paris."
"Tages Anzeiger":"It wasn't a pompous farewell like Federer's at the 2022 Laver Cup, when British singer Ellie Goulding performed and moved the Swiss and Nadal to tears. But that probably wouldn't have suited Nadal either."
England 🏴
"The Guardian:"Not even the deafening, incessant cheers of the crowd could carry Nadal beyond the limits of his battered and exhausted body. Although he fought for every single point with the dedication and desperation that have characterized his entire career, Nadal was clearly defeated."
"The Telegraph":"Rafael Nadal's glittering career ends in tears."
France 🇫🇷
"Le Monde":"History will hardly remember the name of his gravedigger - no offense to Botic Van de Zandschulp - nor the result (...). But the 38-year-old left-hander's farewell performance ended a little too abruptly not to leave him with a touch of bitterness."
"L'Équipe":"Rafael Nadal, a giant on earth, was at the top for 20 years."
Italy 🇮🇹
"Corriere dello Sport":"It was a legendary career that took the Mallorcan star to every corner of the world. His successes have helped to increase his fame - and fill his bank account considerably."
"La Gazzetta dello Sport":"Emotions and disappointment. Tears and exhaustion. (...) The 38-year-old Nadal's 1308th singles match, which brought him his 228th defeat, was full of emotion but short on tennis and brought down the curtain on an extraordinary career."
Austria 🇦🇹
"Kleine Zeitung":"With Nadal, tennis loses its best drummer. Rafael Nadal (38) has shaped an entire generation with his game. (...) Alongside Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, no other player has shaped tennis in the last 20 years like "Rafa"."
dpa
