Rafael Nadal retired this past Tuesday from the world of sport. His legacy will be recorded forever, being one of the best tennis players in history and one of the best athletes in Spain.
His rituals, his epic points, his victories and his great rivalries with Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer will not be forgotten. The Spaniard has remained in the tennis elite for 22 years, achieving 22 Grand Slam titles, 92 ATP circuit titles and two golds in the 2008 and 2016 Olympic Games, in singles and doubles, respectively.
However, it is necessary to go back to its beginnings, more specifically to its first victory as a professional, against the tennis player Ramón Delgado on April 29, 2002 against Ramón Delgado at the ATP 250 in Mallorca. The match ended 6-4, 6-4 for the Spaniard.
History of Ramón Delgado
Ramón Delgado was born in Asunción, Paraguay, on November 14, 1976.. Throughout his career he won eight challengers in the individual category and reached an ATP final in 1998. In addition, he added four other challengers in this modality. However, one of the most relevant data of his career was not good news for him, since his defeat against Rafa Nadal back in 2002 caused the Spaniard to continue his successful careerlater becoming one of the best in history.
“It’s not easy to lose against a 15-year-old boy. It cost me. “I don’t think I played in two or three weeks.”he confessed in the documentary “I lost against Nadal” published by El País. Furthermore, the Paraguayan joked during the documentary stating that Part of Nadal’s earnings should go to him, since that victory gave confidence to the Spanish tennis player.
Interview for La Razón
In an interview given to this newspaper, the Paraguayan tennis player answered some questions about that legendary match with Rafa Nadal.
– Many years have passed, but what do you remember about that game?
– I remember that Nadal was a very intense boy from the beginning of the match, with a very positive attitude and constantly encouraging himself. I remember from his game that he had the consistency of groundstrokes above a boy his age and that he defended very well also for his age.
-Do you remember any anecdotes?
-As an anecdote, I could say that he was already surrounded by a lot of people, I don’t know if it was because the game was played at home, but there were several coaches, physical trainers, etc. which indicates that they were already betting that it would be a phenomenon.
-Have you ever discussed that game with him?
-We have never talked about the game itself, but every time I saw him I made the joke that I gave him the confidence and who was still expecting a percentage of his profits for that.
What is Ramón Delgado today?
Ramón Delgado decided to retire from the world of tennis in 2014. After this decision, Ramón’s life took him on a very different path from that of sport. After abandoning competitions, the Paraguayan looked for other ways to make a living, and he found it in Business Administration.
Ramon Delgado He graduated in Business Administration after hanging up his racketwhich led him to a position in a medical products importing company at CODEX Medical Technology. In addition, for a time he led his country’s team in the Davis Cup.
At the individual level, He is the national player with the most qualifying rounds played (28) and the one who played the most years (16).
