The Spaniard beat the Norwegian 7-6 (7) and 6-4 in front of more than 30,000 fans
He believes that “possibly” it was his last professional match in the Latin American country
The Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal said goodbye this Thursday as a professional from Mexico, a country in which he rose to stardom at the age of 18, winning by 7-6(7) and 6-4 to norwegian Casper Ruud in an exhibition match in a Mexico City bullring with more than 30,000 fans in their stands.
Before the duel, Nadal assured that this match would “possibly” be his last match as a professional in the North American country, where in 2005 he won his first major title, the Acapulco Open, which in 2022 he won for the fourth time in his career. “It is an unforgettable feeling to live in an environment like this in Mexico. I can only say thank you for the unconditional support, it is a country that has treated me like one more Mexican. It is difficult for me to say goodbye to you,” said Nadal at the end of the match, his First in the Mexican capital.
The top winner of grand slams -with 22- beat Ruud 7-6(7) in the first set, in which after the first 12 games neither could break the other’s serve due to the complications they went through to adapt to the altitude from Mexico City, 2,240 meters above sea level. In the ‘tie-brake’, the Spaniard committed two double faults and let go of a couple of set points, but he still managed, with his good net game and setbacks, to get ahead in the match.
Nadal displayed his best tennis in the second set, which he won 6-4. The Spaniard saved his serve three times in the fourth game, paving the way for the victory. With the public on his side, the Spaniard broke Ruud’s serve in the ninth game, to close in the tenth without problems with a Norwegian who suffered from Nadal’s wide field.
This was the last game of a Latin American tour that both started on November 23 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with a victory for the Spaniard. After that, they met in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and in Bogotá, Colombia, with another couple of victories for Nadal, until on November 27 Ruud beat the Iberian for the first time in his career in Quito, Ecuador. Rafa also played a friendly duel in Santiago, Chile on November 25, against the local Alejandro Tabilo, whom he also defeated. Before the exhibition of the Europeans, the Mexican couple of Renata Zarazúa and Santiago González defeated the Canadian Leylah Fernández and the American Jack Sock 6-3, 6-4.