Rafael Nadal on Friday received a major honor when French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane passed on the Olympics torch to him during the final leg of the torch relay. The move was surprising as this honor is usually reserved for the star athletes of the home country at the opening ceremony of the marquee event.
It was definitely a once-in-lifetime moment as the 14-time Roland Garros stood with the torch in the country, with the beautiful Eiffel Tower in the backdrop, where he has won most of his Grand Slam titles. Often referred to as the ‘King of Clay’, Rafa has had most of his life’s historical moments in Paris and this incident just added on to the list.
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Life came a full circle for Nadal as it was Zidane who had presented him with the 2005 French Open trophy after he beat Mariano Puerta. It was also Rafa’s first-ever Grand Slam title. But this is not the first time that Zidane has publicly displayed his admiration for the tennis legend.
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Earlier, during the 2022 French Open, Zidane was one of the many athletes who backed Nadal in winning his record 14th Grand Slam title at the French Open despite the emergence of several youngsters in the picture. Nadal’s struggle with injuries couldn’t stop the soccer great from supporting the Spaniard.
“The new generation is great, but I am from the older one. We’ll try and keep pushing Rafael Nadal [as the favourite for the French Open] if he can,” Zidane was quoted by Eurosport in an interview back in 2022.
“He’s still here, so it would be great. But it’s true that the new generation with Carlos Alcaraz will eventually take over.”
“He’s won a lot of cups since,” Zidane joked as he believed he has been lucky for the Spaniard, when he was reminded about handing the trophy to him in 2005.
Interestingly that year, Nadal did go on to win the Grand Slam, which turned out to be his 22nd after beating Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final.
Hence, Zidane has indeed played a role in creating some iconic sporting moments in Nadal’s career. It will be interesting to see if Zidane, the lucky charm, could power Nadal to bag an Olympic medal this year.
Nadal will be contesting in both men’s singles and men’s doubles, partnering with Carlos Alcaraz for the second category. He can also meet Novak Djokovic as soon as in the second round, if he manages to beat Marton Fucsovics of Hungary in the first round.
