Rafael Nadal is definitely the greatest of all time in the field of tennis. But, the man is also a thorough gentleman!
And here is a story that will reinforce this fact.
Nadal is currently playing the 2020 Australian Open. And in his second round match against Argentina’s Federico Delbonis at the Rod Laver Arena, when Nadal was leading the third set at 4-1, he hit a powerful forehand. Unfortunately, this return of serve hit a ball girl standing near the umpire’s chair on the head. And with Nadal’s power-packed forehands, we can imagine that it must have hurt the little girl.
Nadal grimaced and there was a shocked gasp from the crowd too.
While the girl have a thumbs up from where she was, both Nadal and Delbonis headed to her to ensure that she was not hurt.
But what happened after is what charmed the crowd!
Nadal checked on her, lifted her hat, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and patted her on the head. The crowd loved this heartwarming gesture by this tennis legend and cheered him on as the little ball girl flushed and smiled.
?(?@Eurosport_RU ) pic.twitter.com/IR5B2Z42fu
— doublefault28 (@doublefault28) January 23, 2020
Nadal went on to win the match convincingly 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-1. After the match, he headed back to the girl and handed her his headband.
Post the match, he was asked about the incident. With all humility, he answered that the girl was a very brave one.
“For her, probably it was not a good moment,” the Spaniard said on court after the match. “I was so scared for her, honestly.”
“She’s a super brave girl.” ❤@RafaelNadal talks through that special moment with the @AustralianOpen ballkid! #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/qTUrzXoUMm
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 23, 2020
But hang on, it doesn’t stop there!
Before his third round match, Nadal met the ball girl and her family! He also put up a picture on his Instagram account, revealing that the ball girl’s name is Anita.
“Very happy to see that Anita is doing well,” he wrote on the account.
Isn’t this man pure class? What do you think? Do let us know your views on this gesture in the comments section below.
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