Rafael Nadal's farewell party set to feature two of his biggest rivals
11/05/2024 01:18 PM
Plans are being finalised for Rafael Nadal’s farewell ceremony at the Davis Cup Finals, with tournament director Feliciano Lopez confirming organisers are being inundated with requests to be in attendance.
Nadal has confirmed he will retire after playing one last time for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals, with plans being organised to celebrate the career of a player Lopez describes as the ‘greatest Spanish athlete of all-time’.
Lopez played alongside Nadal in Davis Cup ties and will now help to organise what looks set to be an emotional farewell, with some of the game’s all-time greats expected to be in attendance.
“For now, I know that almost everyone in the world wants to be present for his farewell,” said former world No 12 Lopez.
“Novak Djokovic has said that he wants to be there. Also, Andy Murray wants to be there. Also, there are many more who want to be there and I don’t know if we are going to have seats for everyone.
“As you can imagine, all the tennis players that played in his time want to be there. Other athletes from different sports in Spain and everywhere in the world, they want to be part of this. I’m sure it’s going to be a very special moment for him.”
Nadal flew to London to attend Roger Federer’s farewell celebrations when the Swiss great retired at the 2022 Laver Cup and it will be expected that he would return that gesture for his greatest rival.
Yet Lopez admitted the timing of Nadal’s ceremony at the Davis Cup Finals is hard to assess, as the plan will be to stage the farewell after Spain have played their final match.
That could be on the first day of the Davis Cup Finals when they take on the Netherlands in a quarter-final tie, but it could also be on the final day of the competition.
Such ambiguity may mean some athletes who have expressed an interest in attending the event may not be available for all possible dates.
Spanish tennis players Rafael Nadal and Feliciano Lopez.
“Of course, when he said Davis Cup was going to be his final tournament, all the attention went to his farewell and the celebration, but the competition itself is so important I don’t think Rafa’s celebration is going to overshadow the competition,” added Lopez.
“The most important thing for him is the team. He doesn’t want to do anything that can possibly affect the team. The priority for him is Spain and once they have finished in the competition, we can do something for him. We don’t know when that will be yet.
“There are a lot of uncertainties. We will have everything planned, but we will see when it happens.”
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Lopez went in to reveal Nadal has been training hard ahead of his final tournament, with the reports coming back from those practice sessions at his Mallorca base all positive.
Yet it remains to be seen whether he will be used in singles competition by Spain captain David Ferrer, or whether he will be deployed in doubles, possibly reviving his partnership with Carlos Alcaraz from last summer’s Olympic Games.
Tickets for Spain’s matches at the Davis Cup are changing hands for huge sums, with Nadal’s farewell on Spanish soil certain to be a hugely emotional occasion for those lucky enough to get their hands on tickets.
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