‘You Welcomed Me…’ – Emotional Rafael Nadal Graces Compatriot’s Final Farewell From Professional Tennis With Heartfelt Message

The Spanish tennis player, Feliciano Lopez has finally decided to put down his racket after playing his farewell match at the ongoing grass court event, Mallorca Championships. After an illustrious two decades journey on the court, the former world No. 12 player previously announced retirement from the sport at the start of this season.

The 41-year-old tennis star was quite overwhelmed with emotions when he received a stirring tribute from the entire tennis community at his home tournament. Even his compatriot and rival, Rafael Nadal recently penned down a heartfelt message on his social media in order to hail the three-time Wimbledon quarterfinalist.

Feliciano Lopez receives an emotional tribute from his countryman Rafael Nadal

The 41-year-old player has moved away from the court after his defeat against the German tennis player, Yannick Hanfmann at the ongoing grass court tournament in Spain. Notably, a lot of prominent figures in the tennis community took to their social media in order to hail Feliciano Lopez and his illustrious journey on the ATP Tour.

Among those players and fans, the Spanish tennis legend, Rafael Nadal also gave a heartfelt message in a video on his Instagram account. In the caption of that social media post, he stated, “My message to my friend @felilopezoficial who played his last game as a professional today” (Translated from Google)

The 22 singles Grand Slam champion was heard saying in the video clip, “Feli, I don’t know how to start but first of all I just want to congratulate you for this super long and very successful career. It has been amazing to share with you all your successes all unforgettable moments that I have been lucky to share with you of course some beautiful and some tough ones but I think with you the tour has been more happy, more positive and at the same time less hard in the tough moments.”

He added, “So I want to thank you for your friendship since the beginning since I started my tennis career that both of us were very young, but I think you started a little bit of it before me and when I arrived. You welcome me the best way possible”

Apart from the touching farewell note, Nadal was also in the stands to witness Lopez play the last tournament of his career.

Nadal watches Lopez play his final tournament in Spain

It is been a while since the ‘King of the Clay’ adorned the courts with his spellbinding performances as he is away from competitive tennis due to his injury woes. However, the tennis community was quite emotional when they witnessed his surprise appearance at the grass-court event in  Spain.

Nadal was there at the ATP 250 event to show his support for his compatriot, Lopez, who was playing in his farewell tournament. In a video clip on Twitter, the 37-year-old tennis legend was spotted alongside his wife, Maria Francisca Perello as they cheered for Lopez from the stands.

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What do you think of Nadal’s support and admiration for his compatriot and rival? Let us know in the comments section.

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