Rafael Nadal has been a public figure for two decades, but his former Davis Cup teammate revealed something about him that fans may not be aware of.
Lopez is now the tournament director at the Davis Cup Finals, and he helped organize Nadal's retirement ceremony after the 38-year-old's career ended at the event.
Nadal's last match was a defeat to Botic van de Zanddschulp before his career officially concluded after Wesley Koolhof and van de Zandschulp defeated Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers to eliminate Team Spain in the quarterfinals.
The 14-time French Open champion's retirement ceremony was held afterward. It included him addressing the crowd, a clip containing tributes from various sports stars, and Nadal saying he hopes to be remembered as a good person.
Although the ceremony was emotional, it has received much criticism for not giving Nadal a fitting enough tribute. Nadal's uncle and former coach, Toni, called it disappointing, and his current coach, Carlos Moya, described it as shabby.
Spanish Davis Cup captain David Ferrer felt the ceremony was watered down by Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic not being in the arena for it. There has been speculation that the pair planned to attend on Friday since Team Spain was expected to beat the Netherlands.
However, the criticism of the ceremony has not stopped Lopez from speaking about Nadal in glowing terms during an interview with The Standard. He mentioned that the pair have been friends for 20 years.
"We have been friends for 20 years. As a human being, he is amazing, and I am very proud to be considered one of his friends. The first time I saw him he was probably 15 years old. That was also the first time we shared the court, on a practice session. Since then, I have seen many different Rafas."
"I’ve always been very close to him. I just wish Rafa the very best for his life, for this new chapter. I think he is going to be very happy, because he is a very passionate person, very active, willing to do things all the time. I am sure he is going to enjoy his life after tennis."
Lopez revealed that Nadal is shy, which might surprise many since he is one of the most famous athletes on the planet. But Lopez also stated that the 22-time Grand Slam champion always believed in his tennis ability.
"He is a very shy person; this is something that probably nobody knows. The moment you get to know him a little bit more, he can be very funny. Everything he does he does with passion. It is very nice to see someone with so much enthusiasm for everything he does."
"One of the reasons for him to be such a great competitor is self-belief. A lot has been said regarding his attitude on court and fitness condition, but I think he is great tennis player. Technically, tactically, he is probably if not the best one then the second or third in the history of the sport."
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