It’s been a very emotional week or so for tennis fans and in particular those who have followed the fortunes of Rafael Nadal.
Nadal’s career finished at the Davis Cup as Spain were surprisingly beaten by the Netherlands at the quarter-final stage.
Botic van de Zandschulp reacted after beating Nadal in his final-ever match and a 2-1 defeat saw the curtain fall on one of tennis’ best-ever careers.
In the aftermath of his retirement, several people have discussed the impact of the player’s superb career.
Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic picked their favourite matches against Nadal and it’s clear that the Spaniard was unanimously popular on the ATP Tour.
His rivalry with Roger Federer is something that no two players will ever replicate on the tour.
After the dust had settled, Federer sent Nadal a heartwarming message and the pair will forever have the utmost respect for each other.
When any great sporting legend departs their respective sport, it’s always fun to look back at how the greats were shaped as younger players.
What happened in Rafael Nadal’s first-ever televised match at Wimbledon
Nadal’s relationship with Wimbledon was an intriguing one given that he was a clay-court master who didn’t always get to grips with grass.
Just two Wimbledon titles were claimed by Nadal with wins coming in 2008 and 2010.
The Australian Open was another event he only won twice, with the French Open and US Open proving far more successful for Nadal.
Some footage has come to light, however, of Nadal’s very first game on television which came at Wimbledon in 2003.
A fresh-faced Nadal was taking on Great Britain hopeful Lee Childs, with the BBC showing the viewers flashes of a future star for the first time.
The Spaniard came through in straight sets winning 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 before losing to the number 12 seed Paradorn Srichapan in the third round.
What Rafael Nadal said after playing on tele at Wimbledon for the first time
Looking back at this footage and seeing Nadal show this sort of brilliance is fascinating.
Some of his shots were the sort that his fans grew to love over the years and even his grunts were symbolic of what was to come further down the line!
After that match over Childs, Nadal was the man everyone wanted to talk to in the media as the next big thing.
| Year | Opponent | Score |
| 2006 | Roger Federer | L 0-6, 6-7, 7-6, 3-6 |
| 2007 | Roger Federer | L 6-7, 6-4, 6-7, 6-2, 2-6 |
| 2008 | Roger Federer | W 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7 |
| 2010 | Tomas Berdych | W 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 |
| 2011 | Novak Djokovic | L 4-6, 1-6, 6-1, 3-6 |
The Spaniard actually thought that a rain delay helped him thrash Childs back in 2003.
He told his press conference: “I think the rain came at a good moment for me because I think he was hot at that moment and maybe I wasn’t hitting the ball that well.”
Nadal became a real fan favourite across the globe and he did enjoy some really successful Wimbledon campaigns.
He would reach five finals in total, losing in two of them before tasting success for the very first time in 2018.
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