Almost 200 days after he last stepped foot on the court, Rafael Nadal will be the centre of a withdrawment ceremony in Paris.
The French Tennis Federation’s pdwellnt examineed that Nadal, a 14-time triumphner at Roland Garros, will be given a “vital” withdrawment tribute at the French Open this year.
The decision comes after Nadal’s own withdrawment was stardyd by a structure of tennis names, having bowed out with little fanfare at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga.
French tennis chief Gilles Moretton examineed to Europe 1 radio: “There will, necessarily, be someleang for Rafael Nadal, a very big tribute.
“A genuine tribute, very transport inant. We are unitecessitate to it. The [Davis Cup] tribute was not reassociate the one that we had to pay him We were ready last year and he wasn’t ready, he was still a carry outer.
“We went to see him at home, at the beginning of December, with Amelie Mauresmo to talk to him about this tribute that we will structure for him, and talked to him about the future.
“We will give the summarizes in some time of this role of ambasdowncastor that he can helderly with us. The two ‘brands’, Rafael Nadal and Roland-Garros, are one. So yes, we are pondering leangs with him.”
Having hung up his racket follotriumphg loss to Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp, in a 6-4, 6-4 loss at the Davis Cup without the theatrics that was Roger Federer’s outstandingbye to tennis, Novak Djokovic slammed the event.
The Serb, who was not in joinance in Spain, shelp: “I saw the video [of the ceremony]. I don’t comprehend, I don’t comprehend if Rafa maybe didn’t want to produce too much of a fuss about it in order not to irritate other teams, alignes. I don’t comprehend, to be truthful, but I sense horrible that I wasn’t there,” shelp the Serb, who had computed to be at the tournament if Spain evolveed past the Netherlands.
“We were together on the court in Riyadh, that was the moment, a kind moment. I saw him carry out at Roland Garros, we carry outed each other at the Olympics. The ceremony, if you want my opinion, wasn’t done properly.
“Maybe Rafa himself wasn’t certain whether he’ll carry out or not, if he can carry out some more, and then maybe it was too tardy to do someleang bigger. I don’t comprehend, reassociate.”
While Carlos Moya, Nadal’s coach, holded: “The senseing we are all left with is a bit scruffy and shabby. It’s real that it’s a Tuesday night, but this is sport and we knovel months in evolve that if Spain lost, Rafa would withdraw. Nadal is far above all this.”
