David Haggerty doesn’t think that the criticism surrounding Rafael Nadal’s farewell is justified at all as the ITF President claims the organization staged it as instructed by the Spanish tennis icon.
Last Tuesday, the 38-year-old played his last match as a pro tennis player after he lost to Neherland’s Botic van de Zandschulp and Spain exited the Davis Cup Finals in the quarterfinal stage.
After Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers were beaten by van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof in the deciding doubles match, Nadal took the microphone and a special ceremony was held. During the ceremony, the former 22-time Grand Slam champion addressed the crowd as the highlights of his career were being played, including special messages from Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Serena Williams.
However, not many were pleased with the way went out, with some pretty much describing it as a pretty poor farewell for one of the greatest players ever. Nadal’s coach Carlos Moya described it as “tacky,” Spanish Davis Cup captain David Ferrer said it was “weak,” while Uncle Toni bluntly made it clear that he “did not like it.”
ITF President Haggerty responds to the Nadal farewell backlash
“Rafa is an amazing player and…
