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PARIS: The sky was dark and the sun was a whimsical presence on Sunday, but when the roof over Court Philippe-Chatrier folded up and Rafael Nadal walked onto his ground, for the first time not as a competitor, it rained tears of love.Spectators, VIP guests and media were all handed tees, the colour of Nadal’s beloved red clay. In white were the words, ‘Merci, Rafa’ underlined with the date 25/05/2025.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Nadal, who was welcomed onto the court by a full house that included family, friends and fellow competitors, including Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, was in all black. The 14-time Roland Garros champion, who has played on this court in pinks, mauves and yellows, chose black for this ceremonial outing.Who’s that IPL player?
The legendary Spaniard, in his emotional address, thanked his team, including his first coach Uncle Toni, family and fans, and had special words for this venue, his favourite hunting ground, which he called “the most important court of my career”. The 22-time Major winner, who stopped his address many times to clear his throat and wipe a tear, was greeted by three of his greatest rivals – Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – on court.“After all these years fighting for everything it’s unbelievable how time changes the perspective. You don’t know Novak yet,” Nadal said. “Probably you know already Andy. With Roger we have talked about it a couple times. All of the nerves, pressure, strange feelings you feel when we see each other as rivals… It’s completely different when you finish your career.”“In the end, all of us achieved our dreams, we built amazing rivalries. We showed the world that we can fight as hard as possible but still be good colleagues and respect each other.”As a final act, Nadal’s footprint, marked out at courtside on Chatrier, was unveiled. There was not a dry eye on the ground, not in the stands, not those of his rivals and certainly not Nadal’s.
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