On the occasion of Rafael Nadal‘s announcement regarding his retirement, which will take place at the end of the Davis Cup finals at the end of November, our colleagues at The Team had the good idea to bring out a series of testimonies dating from 2018 concerning the Spaniard’s attitude at Roland‐Garros.
And that of Mathis, ball boy during the 2018 edition, is quite telling.
“I was in the match between Nadal and Gasquet (third round in 2018) in the center. Before, we had instructions for Nadal. For example, he always uses two towels and, when he is serving, he does not want the catcher who gives him a towel to also collect the balls. So the collectors who are at the net must run to bring them back. Me, during his match, I was at the level of the net. I could hear his screams, I could see the speed of his bullets, it’s impressive. I was also the one who gave him the water bottles. He would say “please” or “thank you” to me in French. I was super stressed because I’m a fan of Nadal, I wanted to do well, to be on par with Rafa. I was amazed. »
Published on Wednesday October 23, 2024 at 7:51 p.m.
