Rafael Nadal Promised 'Real Tribute' By French Open After Underwhelming Davis Cup Ending
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Rafael Nadal's record at the French Open is one of the most astounding in sports, and the president of the French Tennis Federation has said the organizers at Roland Garros will give him a fitting ceremony at this year's tournament.
Nadal won the French Open an astonishing 14 times, the first of which was in 2005 when he was a teenager. His final triumph in Paris came in 2022 when he defeated Casper Ruud, who used to train at Nadal's academy.
Many expected the tennis legend to end his career at Roland Garros, but that was not the case. However, he did appear twice at the venue in 2024 for the French Open and the Olympic Games.
Instead, Nadal finished his legendary career at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in Mallorca. Sadly for the passionate home support, their hero lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in the singles. Team Spain was eliminated in the quarterfinal after losing the deciding doubles to Team Netherlands.
Nadal's retirement ceremony received criticism for not being a fitting tribute. It was not very lengthy, the video tribute was short, and none of his great rivals, including Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, were in the stadium for that moment.
Gilles Moretton, president of the French Tennis Federation, took a dig at the Davis Cup ceremony while telling Europe 1 that French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo had spoken to Nadal about the tribute they were planning for him.
“There will necessarily be something for Rafael Nadal, a real tribute, very important. We are attached to it. The [Davis Cup] tribute was not really the one that we had to pay him."
"We went to see him at home, at the beginning of December, with Amélie Mauresmo to talk to him about this tribute that we will organize for him, and talked to him about the future."
The French Tennis Federation also revealed that Nadal may become an ambassador for the event. It feels like Nadal's partnership with the clay court Grand Slam must continue in some form because of his remarkable achievements in Paris.
"We will give the outlines in some time of this role of ambassador that he can hold with us. The two 'brands', Rafael Nadal and Roland-Garros, are one. So yes, we are considering things with him.”
While those who organized Nadal's ceremony at the Davis Cup Finals undoubtedly had their hearts in the right place, it would be nice to see the 38-year-old get a more impressive tribute at the venue where he had the most success.
Novak Djokovic gave an insight into why the Davis Cup tribute was not what many had hoped for. The Serbian revealed that he and Federer planned to travel for the semifinal, but Team Spain's quarterfinal loss ended those plans.
Nadal's tribute in the semifinal or final with Djokovic and Federer sounds like it would have been longer and more fitting. Instead, the ceremony was rushed because the organizers did not expect Team Spain to be knocked out so soon.
