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Reflecting on Rafael Nadal's Legacy After His Roland-Garros Farewell Ceremony · Bleacher Report

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And now his footprints will be etched into Shatrier forever. Lindsay,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: as we watched that, to see the Big Four, to
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: see his son at the end, what does it mean
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: to you?
• 0:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's hard not to get emotional. He's
• 0:12
  Speaker 2: one of the greatest of all time, certainly, and to
• 0:14
  Speaker 2: see what this tournament in particular meant to him. You know,
• 0:18
  Speaker 2: Rafa came through at a time when Spaniards in the
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: nineties were clayport specialists, right, and everyone knew Raffa's game
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: translated so well to the surface. No one ever thought
• 0:27
  Speaker 2: he was going to win fourteen. That just seems absurd
• 0:29
  Speaker 2: to even say, yes, But then also how he was
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: able to master the other.
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: Surfaces as well.
• 0:34
  Speaker 2: I think his ability to continually improve but also stay
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: such an amazing human. Everybody loves Ralfa. Yeah, people who work,
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: the tournament's fans, everyone. It's sad to see we've lost
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: Roger and Rafa and Andy. We've only got Novack left.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Well, he's got one hundred now, so he's got back strong.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: To see the Big four out there, and then also Rafa, Jared,
• 0:56
  Speaker 1: what was that like for you?
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  Speaker 4: It was amazing And they've led this sport for twenty years,
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: and I think Lindsay said the best, Raffa. He's so
• 1:01
  Speaker 4: good on the court, but he's so nice off the court.
• 1:04
  Speaker 4: He was the guy that was saying hi to every player,
• 1:06
  Speaker 4: the qualifier rank two hundred and seventy five all the
• 1:09
  Speaker 4: way to Roger Federer, you know, his number one rival.
• 1:11
  Speaker 4: He was just such a genuine person and that was
• 1:13
  Speaker 4: maybe the best quality about Rafael.
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: On the doll Chris Hubanks had to hit you No.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: It was super emotional to sit there and to watch
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: the outpouring of emotion in which he had when he
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: walked onto the court, to see the court Philip Chautier
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: filled with fans wearing shirts with I Love Rafa in
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: the crowd, and seeing the formation of the amount of
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: people who were willing to come out and spend their
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: time on this Sunday evening to pay tribute to him.
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: Many of these people came and didn't even watch tennis today,
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: that's how important he was.
• 1:39
  Speaker 5: He stakes was filled.
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: They wanted to come out to pay their respects to
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: it a champion, a champion who I think oftentimes we
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: seem to forget how absurd it is what he's done
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: in this sport fourteen grandson. There was a time in
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: which Pete Sanders, who have their all time leader in
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: Grand Slams at fourteen across all surfaces, and players thought
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: that would never be surpassed. Raffa, an adult, came here
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: and won fourteen titles. There's no secret and it makes
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: total sense as to why his footprint will be forever etched.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: In this tournament A one, one hundred and twelve and
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: four and like ninety plus of them were in straight sets, and.
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: Two of those losses were to the greatest of all time.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: He'll jo are married. Joe Fernandez had a chance to
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: catch up with one before Roger Federer. That rivalry so
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: special and I don't know if he did media with
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: anybody else. So Mary, Joe holding it down, Let's take
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: a listen.
• 2:31
  Speaker 6: Thanks Adam Roger, that was an emotional and special ceremony
• 2:34
  Speaker 6: for Ruffa. Why was it important for you to be
• 2:37
  Speaker 6: here for Rauffa today to honor him?
• 2:39
  Speaker 5: Well, I think farewells are important when you have you
• 2:43
  Speaker 5: know his level, and he's a giant of the game.
• 2:46
  Speaker 5: And if we can add a little something by being
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: here with Novak ca Andy and we tied the k
• 2:54
  Speaker 5: not all together. I think it's a it's a nice thing.
• 2:56
  Speaker 5: I know, it meant the world to me that I
• 2:59
  Speaker 5: had all my guys, my players around me when I retired,
• 3:02
  Speaker 5: And I think it's also good for closure respect as
• 3:07
  Speaker 5: well from me personally towards Raff and his family and
• 3:10
  Speaker 5: his team. We played so long and so good and
• 3:14
  Speaker 5: hard against each other that, yeah, I was not going
• 3:17
  Speaker 5: to miss it. When they asked me to be here today.
• 3:19
  Speaker 6: Ralpa referenced on the court your rivalry how special and
• 3:22
  Speaker 6: amazing it was. I mean, on the court you played
• 3:24
  Speaker 6: forty times, twenty four of those matches were in finals.
• 3:27
  Speaker 6: But also off the court you mentioned he became great
• 3:30
  Speaker 6: friends and you had so much respect. Do you think
• 3:33
  Speaker 6: the example that you and ruffas set is trickling down
• 3:35
  Speaker 6: now to the next generation.
• 3:37
  Speaker 5: I mean, I think it's definitely not hurting, but I do.
• 3:41
  Speaker 5: I must say. Also, when I did come on tour,
• 3:43
  Speaker 5: there was good friendships. Guys were hanging around with each
• 3:48
  Speaker 5: other quite a lot because the teams were not so
• 3:49
  Speaker 5: big yet. It's a bit more difficult nowadays, I think.
• 3:52
  Speaker 5: And then I don't know if the absolute best of
• 3:55
  Speaker 5: the best, you know, we're as friendly as now we were,
• 3:58
  Speaker 5: and I think he referenced to that again when we
• 4:00
  Speaker 5: standing on court, and it's nice to see that, you know, me,
• 4:03
  Speaker 5: Novak and the Rafa, we all get along really well.
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: You can put us into a room together and we're
• 4:08
  Speaker 5: going to have a good time. And I think it
• 4:10
  Speaker 5: also sends a nice message out to the world. But
• 4:13
  Speaker 5: then you know, when it is go time, it is
• 4:15
  Speaker 5: strictly rivalry. We want to win. Sure, we're going to
• 4:18
  Speaker 5: do it fair and how it's supposed to be done,
• 4:20
  Speaker 5: but you know it's important to also keep that element
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  Speaker 5: of big time rivalry. I want to really beat you,
• 4:25
  Speaker 5: but then I think after the match we can be
• 4:27
  Speaker 5: very friendly again.
• 4:28
  Speaker 6: And for you, Roger, you want everything there was to win.
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  Speaker 6: But what did it mean to win Roland Girls in
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  Speaker 6: two thousand and nine.
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  Speaker 5: It meant a lot to me because it was the
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  Speaker 5: last Grand Slam that was still missing. You know, for me,
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  Speaker 5: I had won the all the others, I think by
• 4:44
  Speaker 5: two thousand and four, so I had to wait a
• 4:47
  Speaker 5: good five six years maybe to win the French Open. So,
• 4:50
  Speaker 5: of course, and when I wanted finally and on a
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: rainy day here in Paris and I came to in
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  Speaker 5: the finals was a beautiful moment, and then you know,
• 4:58
  Speaker 5: the week felt endless because ra I think fourth round maybe,
• 5:03
  Speaker 5: and I had another three or four matches to win
• 5:06
  Speaker 5: before being able to you know, win the French Open.
• 5:09
  Speaker 5: So the pressure was immense because I knew, like, okay,
• 5:12
  Speaker 5: maybe I don't have to go through Raffa. That's how
• 5:13
  Speaker 5: the tennis works sometimes. But the relief was incredible and
• 5:17
  Speaker 5: I never got a chance again. Raffa was there at
• 5:20
  Speaker 5: the at the door and said, sorry, pal, it's my
• 5:22
  Speaker 5: turn again. And it's amazing how how dominant he has
• 5:27
  Speaker 5: been here. He's so incredible, and I'm so happy he
• 5:30
  Speaker 5: got the plaque, you know forever, not just you know,
• 5:32
  Speaker 5: for a year or something like that. And I think
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  Speaker 5: it meant a lot to Rafa. So I'm very honored
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  Speaker 5: that I had the chance to play against raff on
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  Speaker 5: this court.
• 5:39
  Speaker 6: Thank you, Roger, it was great seeing you back at
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  Speaker 6: Roland Garros. Thanks for the time.
• 5:42
  Speaker 5: I loved it, Adam.
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: Mary Joe, thank you so much. In fact, at Roland Garros,
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: Nadal six and zero against Federer and in the championship
• 5:52
  Speaker 1: round for and that rivalry one sided here everywhere else epic.
• 5:58
  Speaker 1: What I love about Nadal's story. Is the locker one
• 6:01
  Speaker 1: fifty nine typically reserved for guys coming in that maybe
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: not make a run. That's where he was the first year.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: That's where he stayed for those twenty years, and you
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: saw him unpacking his clothes by one fifty nine.
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: Yeah, last year I had the privilege. I've always got
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: the locker on the opposite side in Philip Chatre where
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: Roethlis locker was, and last year I either had rolland
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: Garrels or at the Olympics, I can remember it was
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: a pretty quiet locker room, not very many players going on,
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: but Rafford was getting ready to go on to play
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  Speaker 3: a match. I happened to walk past that little bitty
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  Speaker 3: hallway where locker one fifty nine sits, and he had
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  Speaker 3: perfectly laid out his matt shirt, his shorts, his socks,
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  Speaker 3: his shoes, his bandana was pristine, looked like he had
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: ironed it as.
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  Speaker 4: He sat it there on the bench.
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  Speaker 3: And then next to it was the Babelotte back that
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: had fourteen rolling garrel S trophy sitting right on it.
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: And as I walked past, and there weren't that many
• 6:49
  Speaker 3: people around, I took a minute to just kind of
• 6:50
  Speaker 3: take it in and go, this is pretty cool.
• 6:53
  Speaker 4: This seems like a bit like a museum.
• 6:55
  Speaker 3: This is something where you tell people about it. It's
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: tough to really encapsure they motion in which you feel
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: when you walk by and you go, those are Rafa
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: the doll scores, that's his bag, those are his rackets,
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: and he's getting ready to go do battle. And I
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: have the privilege of being in that locker room and
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: to see it firsthand. Truly a special moment for.
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: Me to line up against Rafa. You know, it's great
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: to go, man, I don't have to play on this
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: is awesome. But you play them and you go, this
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: is crazy.
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  Speaker 4: You don't want to play him here. I never played
• 7:22
  Speaker 4: him here, but you you could take a beating out
• 7:23
  Speaker 4: there and share and you know, only win a handful
• 7:26
  Speaker 4: of games over a three set match. And I think
• 7:28
  Speaker 4: for a lot of players, the intimidating moment is when
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: you're on the court when they do the player announcements, right,
• 7:33
  Speaker 4: Adam left co zero matchup one first time here and
• 7:36
  Speaker 4: then they go over to Rothfield the doll and they
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: read off the year spent at number thousand five titles,
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: the prize money, the win and that's an intimidating thing
• 7:44
  Speaker 4: as a player to hear that when you're warming up.
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  Speaker 2: One of my greatest moments of Raffa. He'd already achieved everything.
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: He already won the gold medal in singles, he had
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: all his Grand Slam titles. If you guys remember in
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: the twenty sixteen Olympics, the doubles he played with his
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: best friend Mark Lopez. He didn't really have to play doubles,
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: and when he won the gold medal with Mark Lopez,
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: might have been the happiest I'd ever seen him, right
• 8:06
  Speaker 2: on the ground, and he did that purely for his
• 8:08
  Speaker 2: friend to try and get another gold medal for Spain.
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: I mean, he's got so many amazing.
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: Memories, but I just remember watching him thinking, look how
• 8:14
  Speaker 2: much this means to him to be out there with
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: his best friend achieve another gold medal, and how important
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: it was to him.
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: Yeah, you could tell family means so much, whether it
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: was his uncle Tony, the way he talked about his
• 8:25
  Speaker 1: wife in that speech and then to end it holding
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: his son, very very special