Everyone cried: the audience Madridthe Cholo Simeon sitting in the stands, the Czech Jiri Lehecka who beat him in the last match of his career at Caja Magica. Rafa Nadal, on the other hand, started out smiling, but in the end his eyes also became teary.
Madrid greeted Nadal with a thrilling tributealso because in these parts – despite a joke, “It was a joke, I’ll be back next year” – Nadal will never be seen on the pitch again. The Madrid Masters 1000 round of 16 match against Lehecka ended with the victory of the class of 2001 (born when Nadal was already appearing on the circuit), but the best had yet to begin. From the roof of the Caja Magica the canvases depicting the five triumphs for the Spaniard in Madrid (2005, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017), it started on the big screens a video that retraced all these moments.
Then, of course, came the words. «It’s a difficult day when it arrives, but life and my body have sent me signals: it’s the right time – explains Rafa -. I can only thank all those who helped me in my career, which in any case is not over yet (he will certainly play in Rome and at Roland Garros, ed). Madrid was more important than a Slam, these emotions will remain with me forever. I’ve been lucky to have been able to turn a hobby into a job and also do it well, I feel very lucky and I can’t ask for more. I hope I have been a good example for the new generations: this matters more than titles. The only thing I can say is thank you.”
The physique worn by 20 years of legendary career presented the bill to Nadal: not against Lehecka, given that there was a match, nor in the previous round against the Argentine Pedro Cachin, to whom Rafa gave the shirt after three hours of fighting. He has presented the bill to him in the last year and a half, with the hip operation last June and with a return to the field this season only a risky one in January in Australia before another three months of stoppage. But the end of an era could only be on that red earth which made him immortal: having skipped Monte Carlo, the long farewell began in Barcelona, continued with Madrid, will stop in Rome (and there too there will be more tears, given that he won 10 times at the Foro Italico) and then in Paris, where as always happens, Nadal will celebrate his birthday during Roland Garros. There will be 38: enough to leave an infinite legacy.
