From Australia, China and the United States, RAFAEL NADAL fans descended on a chilly and damp Roland Garros on Monday, hoping to inspire the tennis star to victory at the French Open.
However, many were reduced to tears as the 14-time champion slumped to a straight-sets defeat to ALEXANDER ZVEREV in the first round, likely signaling the end of the 38-year-old’s Grand Slam adventure in Paris.
“Personally, I’m very sad, he’s Rafa, a legend,” MATEO CASTRO, a 41-year-old French fan, told AFP with tears in his eyes. “It’s hard to see him go.”
“I was crying because I don’t think there has ever been another role model like him before in sports,” said the 43-year-old.
“It was a great match, I saw RAFAEL NADAL at an exceptional level again,” said GREGORY DUBUS, a 50-year-old French fan.
MICHAEL LUNDELL, another Nadal fan who had travelled from Genoa to Paris to watch the match, was also in tears.
Before the start of the match, fans had hailed a player dubbed a “superhero.”
Before Wednesday, NADAL had only lost three times in 115 matches at the tournament since his title-winning debut as a 19-year-old in 2005.
He said at the weekend that there was a chance this may be his last French Open but insisted he was still keeping the door “100 per cent open” on continuing his career.
“You see a lot of ‘Thank you Rafa’ shirts. He’s a monument at this tournament,” said 41-year-old MANOLO who had traveled to Europe from the United States to watch NADAL and then Real Madrid play in the Champions League final in London on Saturday.
He has seen NADAL win at Wimbledon and the US Open as well as Paris but admitted Monday’s clash with world number four ZVEREV “would be very difficult.”