A tennis legend has bowed out. Spain’s doubles defeat having precipitated his retirement. Alone in the middle of the court, and cheered by his audience to the sound of the “Rafa, Rafa”the former world number one first held back his tears as he repeated his thanks: “I’ve been very lucky to feel so much affection from all over the world, especially from Spain. It’s been 20 years of a professional career during which you have always supported me, in good times and in bad.” In the first singles of the day, the Majorcan left-hander lost in two sets tothe 80th-ranked player in the world, winning 6-4, 6-4. “I want to thank the whole Spanish team here. It didn’t turn out the way we all would have liked, but I gave what I had and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving me the opportunity to spend these last days as a professional with a team. It’s with them that I’ve experienced most of the most exciting moments of my career, we’ve enjoyed them and now it’s up to you (his team-mates) to carry on.”

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The four-time winner of the : “I feel privileged to have lived a much longer career than I could ever have imagined (…) I’m going to retire from professional tennis, but I’m still here, I hope to be a good ambassador for world tennis, that’s what I’ve tried to do all my life, to strive every day to be better, to show respect, humility and appreciate all the good things.” And there was plenty of emotion when he thanked his family, who have played a vital role in his career, particularly his uncle and coach Toni Nadal. “ I want to say goodbye by thanking my family, who never let me down, when things seemed impossible, they kept me grounded.”

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After shedding tears as the Spanish anthem rang out before the the Spain-Netherlands matchthe 38-year-old champion was once again caught up in his emotions when a video was shown featuring testimonials from some of the biggest names in Spanish and international sport: (Serena Williams, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic) for the tennis legends, and (Iker Casillas, Raul, Rodri, Andres Iniesta) for the Spanish soccer stars. The Iberians’ ill-fated captain David Ferrer then took the microphone and asked Nadal what legacy he thought he had left, the newly retired player blurted out: “The titles, the records are there, but I’d like to be remembered as a good person, who remembers his origins, a little guy from Mallorca. I’ve been lucky enough to have my uncle and my family supporting me at all times to make my dreams come true. I want to be remembered as the boy who made his dreams come true.”