Jun 13, 2024, 07:18 ET
Rafael Nadal, 38 years old, presiding over the graduation ceremony of 54 students from the Rafa Nadal Academy from Manacor with his coach Carlos Moyá, He said that he would like to be remembered “as a good person”, since “successes, titles and records are temporary.”
The Spaniard, as the captain of the Spanish team has announced in the Paris Olympic Games, David Ferrer, will form one of the doubles pairs with Carlos Alcaraz from Murcia, recent winner at Roland Garros.
“I recently had a conversation with my friend and rival on the courts (Swiss tennis player) Roger Federer about a word that seems very important to me: the legacy,” explained Nadal.
“We agreed on something that seemed important to us: How do we want to be remembered in the coming years? How do we want future generations to see us?” he said.
“We were both very clear about the answer: Yes, it is good to be recognized for our success, titles and records. But that, at the end of the day, is something temporary, since throughout history other (tennis players) will arrive and they will go away. overcoming. As it should be,” he asserted.
“The important thing is what remains forever in the memory. And that is why both Roger and I agree that we would like to be remembered as good people,” he added.
Nadal and Federer, with 22 and 20 Grand Slam titles in their respective titles, starred in the greatest sporting rivalry recorded in the world of tennis.. The Spaniard and the Swiss met 40 times, with 24 victories for Nadal and 16 for Federer. In Grand Slam finals they met on 9 occasions with a record in favor of Nadal 6-3. On hard and grass courts Federer leads 11-9 and 3-1; On clay Nadal won 14-2 and on grass the Swiss leads the Mallorcan 3-1.
