Rafa Nadal said goodbye to professional tennis this week, although it was not in the way we all expected. Since he announced that his goodbye would take place in the Davis Cup, we all dreamed that he could leave with a new trophy for his extensive collection, but it was not to be. Spain was defeated in the quarterfinals against the Netherlands and the farewell events for the Spanish legend were rushed, since who most and who least expected that, at the very least, they would reach the semifinals on Friday, when a greater tribute was scheduled to be held.
More information
And one of the people who has been closest to Rafa in this last week as a professional has been the captain of Spain, David Ferrer, who came to talk to Francisco José Delgado in BE Sports and he has reviewed everything that happened, although he affirms that he has not given him “much time to think about it, to digest it.” “Whether you like it or not, it was sad to have lost the tie and also to say goodbye to someone very special in our sport,” but he feels “very lucky to have experienced those last moments of Rafa,” whom he is very fond of “regardless.” of the greatness of the character”.
And although he assures that the whole issue of it being Nadal’s last time had an impact, he is clear that “we lost because the Dutch were better”, although he does not regret the decisions he made for the tie, such as the Manacorí playing the first match . “In retrospect, of course you change things, but if I went back without knowing it, I would choose the same thing again. It was a professional issue, I am the captain, I am the one who has to make decisions and I saw Rafa prepared to compete. He competed, he couldn’t win, well that’s it, there’s little to say,” he said. Of course, he understands perfectly how this world works, which “in general is results-oriented.”
“As a tennis professional, I understand, I see them training, I do see Rafa that he is improving day by day, that he is playing sets and I see him competitive, because he is a player who, What’s happening? That Rafa Doesn’t he play well individually? We’re not talking about a big difference in training. And I don’t know what can happen, I know what they can give me, which is to compete, both him and Roberto Bautista. From then on it’s sport and. There are many factors. And I understand the other opinion, I understand the criticism,” he explained, but he is clear that “if I had put Roberto Bautista and we had lost the tie, I would have also been criticized.”
A tribute that fell short
And another of the topics that has been talked about the most these days is the appropriateness of the tribute that was paid to the best Spanish athlete of all time. Ferrer also believes that something better could have been done, but that “it was all hasty” because “it was expected for Friday”, when he assures that figures of the substance of Pau Gasol, Roger Federer or Novak Djokovic were going to attend, but they could not occurred and he had to be the one to speak on behalf of everyone. “Of course I would be happy to give my last words to Rafa,” he snapped at Pacojo, but he thinks it was strange.
“After Rafa spoke, well, he had already said everything, so repeat more of the same… Well, I said what I think about him and everything has already been said. There is no problem. It was a moment of urgency,” he excused. David, although he believes that, without belittling himself, “there were other athletes or other illustrious figures” who should have taken that role because, without wanting to criticize anyone, he is clear that “Rafa deserved something more.” “That Roger was by his side, that Moya or the people in his family were more involved in the videos… in the video I also missed something else from people closer to Rafa,” explained the captain of ‘La Armada’. ‘ in BE Sports.
