Gone are the days when France was unable to recognize the great conqueror of her clay. And L’Equipe newspaper published, in its Friday issue, a picture of Rafael Nadal on its cover after winning the fourteenth Roland Garros championship, with the headline “The land without its own.” This is how the most important sports newspaper in France explains Nadal’s absence this year, which is the first time since 2004 that the Balearic player will not participate in the French Championship.
“Even when he’s not there, he’s still there,” says The New York Times, which does not hesitate to stress that Nadal’s enduring success at Roland Garros is one of the greatest achievements in the history of the sport. In the same vein goes The Age, Australia’s main publication, which hopes this tournament will be on its calendar for the Balearic Islands in its farewell in 2024: “Long live the King,” says the Australian publication, which describes his career as “a fairy tale”.
The Telegraph, one of the UK’s most influential newspapers, asserted that the decline at Roland Garros was “expected”, but insists it is impossible to repeat his numbers at Roland Garros in the future.
The praise didn’t just come from the press and colleagues like Carlos Alcaraz left their message to the 14-time Roland Garros champion.
“A lot of encouragement, Raphael. He’s starting now as a great favorite at Roland Garros,” said Murcian, who said.
The French championship itself did not forget the Balearic Islands either, and accompanied by his last photo as champion, he sent a kiss to the audience, shared this message: “Rafa, we can’t even imagine how difficult it was to make this decision. We will miss you very much this year at Roland Garros. Take care of yourself and come back stronger. Looking forward to See you next year in Paris.”
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