MALAGA – As Rafael Nadal prepared to serve in what turned out to be the last tennis match of his career, a woman's voice broke the silence from the stands: “You make Spain proud!”
Not long after that, Nadal was wiping away tears from his face and waving goodbye to his fans.
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His farewell from tennis was as emotional as expected when it came in Malaga on Tuesday, too soon for most. Nadal deliberately set up his swansong on a home court but Spain was eliminated in the Davis Cup quarterfinals and he and they couldn't complete his exalted career with a win.
It was also heart-wrenching for his fans across Spain as they saw one of the country’s very best — arguably its greatest sportsperson ever — finally call it quits.
“It's clear that Rafa is the best athlete ever in Spain. He is on a different level than everyone else, by far,” Feliciano López, a former tennis player and the tournament director of the Davis Cup Finals, told The Associated Press. “No disrespect to all other Spanish athletes, and we have very good ones, but no one has been able to inspire the fans the same way that Rafa did."
López, who was Nadal’s teammate in the Davis Cup, compared him to the likes of Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali, all athletes who transcended sports.
“There is a very small group of athletes who, during their careers, were able to inspire people in a special way, going beyond sports,” López said. “Rafa belongs to this small group. People everywhere in the world will remember Rafa some 40 or 50 years from now.”
Unable to overcome a string of injuries in recent years, the 38-year-old Nadal retired from professional tennis after more than 20 years on tour and 22 Grand Slam titles, two more than Roger Federer and second only to the 24 of Novak Djokovic, the only one of the Big Three still playing.
The front pages of Spain’s dailies all talked about Nadal following his farewell match — a 6-4, 6-4 defeat against No. 80 Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands.
“It was an honor,” the sports daily AS said.
“Thank you, Rafa,” Marca headlined.
“Eternal,” Mundo Deportivo said.
It's hard to find any other Spanish athlete coming close to Nadal's fame and sporting achievements.
Other Spaniards who have earned sporting greatness include five-time major golf champion Seve Ballesteros; five-time Tour de France winner Miguel Induráin, two-time NBA champion Pau Gasol; two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso; six-time MotoGP champion Marc Márquez; and four-time Dakar Rally winner Carlos Sainz.
Spain also has a long list of successful soccer players, including World Cup winners Iker Casillas and Andrés Iniesta, but none with a status like a Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, who have transcended sports like Nadal.
Nadal is also a two-time Olympic champion, and was Spain’s flag-bearer during the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro.
He is adored in Spain just as much for his victories as he is for his passion and unwavering dedication, and is seen as an example for society in general for his values and humbleness on and off the courts.
“Nadal makes us Spaniards feel proud. He represents the values of passion, camaraderie, solidarity. He will always be the image of sport in Spain," said Clara García, a 35-year-old fan who was in Malaga to watch Nadal. “It's not easy knowing that he won't be playing and representing Spain on the courts around the world anymore.”
Federer gushed about his friend and longtime foe's retirement in an open letter. “You made Spain proud, you made the whole tennis world proud. You have always been a role model for kids around the world.”
Nadal told the crowd in his farewell ceremony after Spain's loss that he always "strived to be better and achieve my goals from a place of respect, humility, and I valued all the good things that happened to me.
“I’ve tried to be a good person, which was what mattered the most to me, and I hope that you have noticed that."
Fellow tennis pros Djokovic and Serena Williams, as well as former soccer stars David Beckham and other athletes praised Nadal.
"Thank you for so many incredible moments and memories as a tennis fan and for everything that you have done to inspire young people around the world,” former England and Real Madrid player Beckham said.
“My goodness, you will be missed,” Williams said.
Carlos Alcaraz, regarded as Nadal's heir in Spanish tennis — he already has four Grand Slam titles at 21 — said it will be hard to avoid the inevitable pressure that will come along with following in the footsteps of his idol.
“I don’t want to think that we have to continue his legacy. I don’t want it to be a frustration if we don’t reach the level that he reached,” Alcaraz said. “If I achieve half of what he achieved, I will be happy. His legacy is going to be eternal.”
It wasn't quite clear what the future would hold for Nadal, who is an avid golfer and who has always been linked to Real Madrid. He has said in the past he would probably enjoy being the club's president one day.
“My life will change radically,” Nadal said on Wednesday after arriving home in Mallorca, where he also has the Rafa Nadal Academy. “I have to accept this change as something normal, and accept that my life will be different now than it was for the last 30 years or so. I'm excited about it, there is no doubt.”
One thing was certain: Nadal will never be too far away from tennis.
“I’ll retire from the sport but I will continue to be available for whatever is needed, and to being a good ambassador, which is what I have tried to do my entire life.”
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AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich contributed.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis