Rafael Nadal Sends Heartfelt Message to Compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina After His Loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas at Monte Carlo Masters 2022

On Sunday, the tennis world witnessed a great final at Monte Carlo Masters between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. After a tremendous battle between the two players, Tsitsipas ended the fairy tale run of the 22-year-old Spanish player. The young Greek successfully defended his title in Monaco, edging past the upbeat Spaniard 6-3, 7-6(3) in an hour and 36 minutes. Despite the loss, the Spaniard received great praise from his compatriot, and one of the greatest players of all time, Rafael Nadal.

Rafael Nadal congratulates Alejandro Davidovich Fokina after an amazing tournament at Monte Carlo Masters

During the past week in Monaco, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s stature on the tour has increased manifold. Incidentally, this was his first-ever Masters 1000 final. Although he lost the final against Tsitsipas, he played some outstanding tennis throughout the tournament, defeating Novak Djokovic, Taylor Fritz, and Grigor Dimitrov en route to his title clash in Monaco.

Following his memorable performances, Rafael Nadal took to his Instagram and shared a post and a story about Fokina’s tremendous week in Principality. On his Instagram story, he wrote, “Great Week! Congratulations.” (Google Translate)

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At the same time, he also shared a post displaying a picture of both Tsitsipas and Fokina. In the caption, he wrote, “Congratulations to @aledavidovichofficial for the final in #MonteCarlo great week!!!!”

Additionally, he also congratulated Tsitsipas for his back-to-back win in Monte Carlo.

“Congrats to #Stefanos for his 2nd Monte Carlo win. Great achievement,” he further wrote on Instagram.

Nadal missed the Monte Carlo Masters due to an injury

Although Nadal congratulated his fellow countryman for his amazing week at Monte Carlo, it was probably heart-breaking for Nadal not to participate in one of the most successful tournaments of his storied career. The 21-time Grand Slam champion is an 11-time Monte Carlo champion, which is still a record.

With clay being his favorite surface, it certainly should have been disappointing for Nadal to watch from the sidelines. Nadal suffered a rib injury during his semifinal win over Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals in Indian Wells. He further aggravated his injury during the final against Fritz in the Californian desert.

Subsequently, Nadal has been on the sidelines and missed Monte Carlo Masters, and will not feature at this week’s Barcelona Open as well. Depending on his recovery, he could return to action at the earliest at the Madrid Masters in the first week of May.

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As far as Fokina is concerned, he should be hoping to continue his good run. He will lock horns against Hugo Dellien in his tournament opener in Barcelona on Tuesday.