Rome Italy) – Current US Open champion and one of the main stars of the WTA, North American Coco Gauff commented on what it has been like to watch Spaniard Rafael Nadal say goodbye. The world number 3 has not yet fully understood the idea of the Mallorca left-hander’s retirement, but after the ceremony at Rafa’s last match in Madrid, she began to realize that the end is coming.
“It’s strange to accept because most of my life I saw him win at Roland Garros. I imagine you are going through a delicate moment. I was in Madrid and it didn’t look like he was going to retire there. But with the ceremony they did, I later wondered if this was real life or not. I’m sad because he’s one of my favorite players, I admire his mentality and intensity,” said Gauff.
“He’s probably the only player that, if he was training on the court next to me, I would watch. I’ve never seen a lack of respect in him, he has this aura around everything he does. For me, all of this is admirable. He’s a very nice person, I remember last year at Roland Garros he touched me on the back and said: ‘Good job’. To this day I can’t believe he spoke to me,” he added.
The American rightly highlighted Nadal’s behavior as a differentiator in his career. “These little details are what I will miss most about the circuit, the way he behaves with others. He will have an incomparable legacy for the intensity with which he does everything, this is something that everyone will miss”, concluded Coco.
