“We had instructions for him,” Ball boy reveals experience working during Rafael Nadal’s matches at Roland Garros
14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal has announced his retirement, and played his career's last match at Roland Garros this season.
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Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)
Rafael Nadal won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam titles at the French Open and played the last match of his career at Roland Garros this season. The ball kids at Roland Garros used to get special instructions during his matches and one of the kids recalled the third-round match between Nadal and Richard Gasquet during the 2018 French Open.
The ball kid, Mathis, was a Nadal fan and he wanted to be as good as the Spaniard. Doing his duties as a ballboy during Nadal’s matches also used to give him a lot of stress as he wanted to do his job properly. The ball kid also revealed that Nadal would say ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ to them in French.
Before, we had instructions for Nadal. For example, he always uses two towels and, when he is serving, he does not want the ball boy who gives him a towel to also pick up the balls. So the ball boys who are at the net have to run to bring them back. I was at the net during his match. I could hear his screams, I could see the speed of his balls, it’s impressive.
Mathis told L’Équipe
In Nadal’s last match at the French Open, Alexander Zverev knocked him out in straight sets in the first round. He also got another chance to play in front of the Paris crowd during the Olympics. Nadal was eliminated from singles after losing to Novak Djokovic in straight sets, and in doubles, he had paired up with Carlos Alcaraz and they bowed out of the tournament after their quarterfinal defeat.
Jimmy Connors lauds Rafael Nadal for his never-give-up attitude
Rafael Nadal suffered from injury troubles throughout his career but he never stopped grinding. Injury has now forced him to call time on his career.
Nadal announced his retirement decision on October 10 and the Davis Cup for Spain in Malaga next month will be the final tournament of his career. Jimmy Connors praised Nadal for using his strength and giving his all till the end to win matches.
[Roger] Federer moved more elegantly across the court, but Rafa was a grinder. You know, get down and dirty with him. That’s why on clay, his shirt and socks were dirty. I love that about him.
Jimmy Connors said on his Advantage Connors podcast
Nadal recently featured in the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh. It’s an exhibition event and Nadal bagged $1.5 million for his appearance. He played in the semifinals and lost to Carlos Alcaraz and later, to Novak Djokovic in the third-place match.
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Gouri Das
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