Rafa Nadal will debut tonight in the Masters 1000 tournament in Paris Bercy, meanwhile he had to overcome an unexpected obstacle to be able to enter the arena.
Rafael Nadal he is one of the best known sportsmen in the world and would hardly go unnoticed in any corner of the planet. TO Paristhen, where he has won Roland Garros 14 times, the 36-year-old Majorcan is practically at home and anyone should know him well, or at least recognize him when he wanders near the Palais Omnisport de Paris-Bercy, sede del Torneo Masters 1000 which sees Nadal’s return to competition from last September 23, when he was Roger Federer’s doubles partner at the Laver Cup, in the last match of the Swiss’s career.
Rafa Nadal is back after the Laver Cup
But no, as absurd, incredible, surreal as it may seem, Nadal was not only not recognized at the entrance to the Parisian multifunctional arena, but he was even stopped by a diligent security officer who barred his way at the entrance asking him for his personal details. The story happened yesterday morning, when the Spanish champion arrived at the sports hall – racket in hand and bag on his shoulder – to train. The dialogue between the two, immortalized in a video, is truly paradoxical. “Hello, do you have your pass with you?“, “No, I don’t have it here“, Nadal replied, trying to climb the ladder anyway, sure that his face was a more than valid pass.
But the attendant at that point moved, putting himself in front of him and asking him a question that the manacor left-handed never thought he would have to answer: “Who is she?“. To the reply”Rafael Nadal“, the man gave up:”Nadal, ok, thanks“. And he let him pass. In fact that name told him something … Moreover, unlike the Parisian Grand Slam tournament of which he holds the record of victories, Nadal has no good precedents on the indoor of Paris Bercy, who never has won in career.
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He will try in this edition – in which he is seeded number two behind compatriot Alcaraz – starting with the match that will see him debut tonight against American Tommy Paul. In recent weeks, tennis has understandably taken a back seat in the priority scale of the Spanish champion, who became a father for the first time: “It’s amazing how after only three weeks he can already miss him completely – he said speaking of the little Rafa Jr – But with technology in this age we are lucky and therefore we can make all the video calls we want. I haven’t been able to play much in the last five months, but I’m confident because I feel I can be competitive“. In the meantime, he was able to enter the sports hall to train, it is already a first step …
