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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 1: Rafael Nadal (ESP) speaks with press on Media Day ahead of the 2021 Citi Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center on August 1, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mike Lawrence/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 1: Rafael Nadal (ESP) speaks with press on Media Day ahead of the 2021 Citi Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center on August 1, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mike Lawrence/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal is one of the humblest personalities in sport. Despite achieving extraordinary success, the 35-year-old still maintains a modest personality.
Recently, there was an update that Rafael Nadal would be part of the Ilie Nastase documentary. The director, Tudor Giurgiu, also the founder of the Transylvania International Film Festival (TIFF), is working on this project which is specially dedicated to Ilie Nastase.
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The Romanian player was the first person to hold the top spot when the ATP rankings were established. He also won two Grand Slam titles, the French Open and the US Open.
When the director came across Rafa, he was amazed by how sincere the 20-time Major winner is. He stated, “The project I filmed with Nadal is called ‘Nasty’, it’s a documentary about Nastase’s life and career, about the era of tennis in the past (’70s) versus today. I filmed with Elijah, followed by interviews with former and current champions, from Connors, McEnroe, Stan Smith to Djokovic, Becker, Yannick Noah, etc.”
Happy 74th birthday to Romanian legend Ilie Năstase! 🎂🎉
— Tennis24.com (@Tennis24_com) July 19, 2020
🏆 2 Grand Slam titles
🎖 4-time Tour Finals champion
🥇 62 career titles
🔝 40 weeks at World No.1 pic.twitter.com/Q2rJpaNTRn
Rafael Nadal respects former greats
Tudor wishes to complete the filming by 2023. He wants to perfect every detail and he does not mind putting in more time. Rafa’s admiration for the Romanian star amazed him.
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Moreover, after learning about the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy, Tudor’s admiration for the tennis star knew no bounds.
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MADRID, SPAIN – MAY 14: Rafael Nadal of Spain bites the winners trophy after his win over Dominic Thiem of Austria in the final during day nine of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis at La Caja Magica on May 14, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
The 49-year-old added, “I hope to finish it in 2023, there is a lot of work and a lot of archive footage to be found/bought. Nadal is a professional, to the point, I was impressed by the stories of the Spanish sound engineer who described to me in detail what Nadal did with the Academy, how he gets involved in educating children from poor families, etc.“
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However, Nadal has not featured in any match ever since his stint in Washington. He lost in the initial rounds and felt that his foot had yet not healed. We wish him a speedy recovery and all the best wishes for the upcoming season.
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