'Very Special' Celebration Being Planned For Nadal's Davis Cup Finals Farewell
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The Davis Cup Finals director, Feliciano Lopez, has revealed something very special is being planned to celebrate Rafael Nadal's career at his farewell tournament.
Nadal's legendary career will end at this month's Davis Cup Finals. The 38-year-old has won the prestigious team event four times, and doing so for a fifth time would be the perfect way to bow out.
It is uncertain whether Nadal plans to compete in both singles and doubles. Spanish Davis Cup captain Ferrer recently gave a positive update about his chances of being ready for the Finals but emphasized he gets daily updates from the tennis legend's team.
Hopefully, Nadal will be able to enjoy and savor his last appearance as a professional tennis player. But he might feel some pressure to perform well, which would ensure a memorable send-off for him.
However, those working behind the scenes at the Davis Cup Finals also face the pressure of making Nadal's final tournament as special as possible to recognize the 14-time French Open champion's status as one of the sport's most influential people.
Nadal is generally considered one of the three best players ever, alongside Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. That means his last appearance deserves to be at least as much of a spectacle as Federer's was.
The Swiss maestro played doubles at the 2022 Laver Cup alongside Nadal in the final appearance of his career. Competing alongside a rival for years on the court but also a close friend off it was a fitting way for Federer to leave the sport.
There were emotional scenes afterward when Federer spoke to the crowd while in tears, and also an iconic image of him and Nadal holding hands once the reality of his retirement began to set in.
Lopez, who won Davis Cup titles alongside Nadal during his career, is aware of the need to make the 22-time Grand Slam champion's final tournament memorable, and he told the AFP News Agency that plans are being made to make that happen.
"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. 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."
Although he ensured fans the celebration would be special, Lopez is less sure about being able to provide seats for everyone who hopes to attend since so many want to be at Nadal's farewell tournament.
"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."
"I don’t know if we’re going to have seats for everyone, but as you can imagine all the tennis players that played in his time, they want to be there, (and) other athletes from different sports."
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