The press, athletes, politicians and even the Spanish Royal Family celebrated Rafael Nadal‘s victory in the final of the Australian Open this Sunday, the 21st Grand Slam title, a historical record, for the Majorcan tennis player.
“Rafa, we are running out of qualifiers. There are no obstacles for those who have no limits. The best tennis in the world, you represent it,” tweeted the Royal House, accompanying the message with a photograph of the tennis player hugging King Felipe VI.
After achieving his 21st Grand Slam title at the age of 35, Nadal is “the best in history” for the Marca newspaper.
The information with Nadal’s victory has immediately occupied the front pages of radio and television news and the web pages of the Spanish written media.
The congratulations were also joined by the most important athletes in the country.
“21 Grand Slams, which are nothing compared to the legacy that you enlarge day by day. Congratulations, @RafaelNadal !!!, the basketball legend Pau Gasol tweeted.
“You are sports history and an example for everyone because of your character and attitude. Congratulations on the 21st, @RafaelNadal,” wrote the cyclist Alejandro Valverde.
“We never get tired of repeating it: IT IS NOT FROM THIS PLANET! Although it landed here, it is impossible to describe in words what @RafaelNadal has done once again. KING OF KINGS,” launched the Olympic badminton champion Carolina Marín.
Marc Márquez, eight-time motorcycling world champion, highlighted on the same social network: “My mother, what brutality! What dedication, what mind, what claw, what REFERENCE, what everything! At your feet @RafaelNadal !!” .
“What madness!” With those words, Paula Badosa, the young Catalan who is one of the promises of Spanish tennis, defined what she experienced on Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena court.
Real Madrid, the club of which Nadal has declared himself a follower, and Atlético de Madrid also congratulated the tennis player.
And the official organizations joined in the messages: “When it seems impossible. When there is hardly any strength left. When things do not go well. You show us the way, you teach us to believe since we must never give up. You are an example of dedication, work and perseverance. You are #ElCorazónDeEspaña”, the Spanish Olympic Committee (COE) wrote on Twitter.
And the president of the Spanish government, the socialist Pedro Sánchez, summed up the sentiment of the entire country: “You are the greatest!”
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