Frenetic cheers for Rafel Nadal on exhibition tour in South America
Rafael Nadal is currently on an exhibition tour of South and Central America with Casper Ruud . The Spaniard's reception in Buenos Aires was phenomenal.
by Stefan Bergmann
last edit: Nov 24, 2022, 03:01 pm
All too often, South and Central American tennis fans don't get the chance to see players of the caliber of Rafael Nadal live. The Spaniard last paid tribute to Latin swing in spring with the clay court events in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro in 2016. At least the almost annual flying visit of the 22-time Grand Slam champion to the hard court 500 tournament in Acapulco remains for the Mexican Rafa aficionados.
So it is more than fitting that the current world number two has set out with his ranking neighbor Casper Ruud to play an extended exhibition tour in the aforementioned territory. Yesterday evening (local time) the first stop was in Buenos Aires, Argentina. And what can one say - the reception of the audience will have made the hardships of the long 2022 season forgotten, at least for a few moments.
Five more stations
For the sake of completeness it should be mentioned that the "Bull from Manacor" won the first duel of the show fight series with the Norwegian young star 7:6, 6:2. The two top stars then cheered the minds of the numerous spectators in mixed doubles with the Argentine ex-world-class players Gabriela Sabatini and Gisela Dulko.
The next stop on the Latin America Exhibition Tour is Santiago de Chile tomorrow. The other venues: 26.11. Belo Horizonte, Brazil; 11/27 Quito, Ecuador; 11/29 Bogota, Colombia; 1. 12. Mexico City, Mexico