Rafael Nadal against Casper Ruud: this is how the match was lived in Bogotá

This Tuesday, November 29, tennis lovers located in other countries of the world were envious of Colombia for several hours, which was able to enjoy the spectacle of the best athletes in the world in the city of Bogotá. In the Coliseo Livewas carried out Copa Electrolit Nadal VS Ruud, an exhibition match between both elite athletes that is part of their Latin American tour to end the year.

In the morning, both the Iberian racket and the Norwegian had time to appear before the media about their arrival in Colombia and what they expected to take from their visit to the coffee country, apart from they also gave some of their time to the fans who they were looking for a photo or an autograph.

After the press conference, both went out to have lunch and start preparing for what was going to be their match in front of thousands of fans. Precisely the appetizer of the event was not a food sandwich, but a tennis clinic accompanied by a mixed doubles match between Colombian couples Juan Sebastian Cabal y Maria Camila Osorio vs. Robert Farah y Yuliana Lizarazo.

Due to the heavy rains that occurred in the country’s capital, access to the Live Coliseum was affected to such an extent that fans saw their entrance to the square delayed for almost an hour, however, the only thing that demonstrated this is that the country has a great niche of tennis lovers. Even before the main events started, there were already quite a few people on stage.

While the assistants took their places, all the athletes developed the tennis clinic, an activity where they had the opportunity to carry out a few ‘rallies’ with fans and gradually warm up to competition. One of the positive points of this activity is that the tennis players had microphones so that their interaction with their followers could be heard.

After the clinic, the track, whose design was quite similar to that of the renowned Australian Open Grand Slam, received the Colombian stars who left the country’s flag in style on the WTA and ATP circuits this year. Cabal, Farah, Osorio y Lizarazo They left a contest on the field that was enjoyed from all possible aspects.

In the match, the Farah-Lizarazo couple went ahead in the first set with a 7-6 run after winning the Tiebreak. Then it was the Cabal-Osorio duo that leveled the contest after winning the second set with a 6-3 run.

To define the match winners, a Match Tiebreak, but at this point the couples decided to make a change, the commitment was defined between women and men. There, the talent of Osorio-Lizarazo ended up beating Cabal-Farah by a result of 10-7.

However, the result was the least of it, everyone present was able to enjoy the best Colombian tennis, even one of the Ball Boys had a chance to take Robert Farah’s racket for a couple of points and to participate in the show.

Once the Colombian doubles match ended, Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud jumped onto the track, there the stage was already packed with more than 30,000 attendees and the shouts plus the applause dictated the start of the dispute of the Copa Electrolit Nadal VS Ruud.

Undoubtedly the favorite and whose name was cheered with one voice by thousands of people was Rafael Nadal, The fact of being able to have one of the most important exponents in the history of world sports in the country represented more than just a match for the Colombians and they demonstrated it with their support.

The match itself seemed anything but a friendly, both players playing hard and smart. Ruud had the high card with his powerful serves, marking the fastest of the match against 201 kilometers per hourwhile Nadal drew his talent from the strong backhand and forced Casper to fall in his game.

The first set was the most even, although making the conversion of a Break Point it was ‘Rafa’ who took the lead with a 7-5 run. With control of the game, the second set was more of a process for the Iberian, closing the victory with a final set of 6-3.

One of the most emotional parts was the award ceremony at the end of the event, apart from the usual trophies that are delivered at the end of the event, those gifts that made the end of the event something special were the carriages, the Colombia team shirts and the hats turned.

What endeared the spectators the most to the foreign tennis players is that they did not hesitate to put on the jacket of the Tricolor and the typical hat. While Ruud wore the number ’10′ of James Rodriguez Nadal was given the ‘9′ of Radamel Falcao Garciaone of the greatest sports exponents of the country.

Apart from the fact that this night will remain forever in the memory of Colombians, the memory will also remain for Nadal and Ruud, who were delighted with their experience in the country.

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