In honor of Rafael Nadal: Caja Magica renaming postponed
According to plans by the political party VOX, the location of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid should be named after the five-time winner Rafael Nadal . Although he feels honored, he would like to wait until his resignation. The same opinion is held by the majority in the Madrid City Council.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Oct 28, 2020, 11:57 am
Rafael Nadal's record at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Madrid is impressive - but the Mallorcan cannot match the statistics at the French Open in his home country. Nevertheless, Nadal is the record winner in the Spanish capital with his five titles, has 52 wins and just twelve defeats.
For this reason, the "Caja Magica", as the venue of the event in Madrid is called, is to be renamed in his honor and will in future be called "Caja Magica Rafa Nadal". This emerges from plans of the political party VOX, which insist on such an honor for the 20-time Grand Slam champion.
"Nadal has already received other recognitions from the city of Madrid (Nadal received the Community of Madrid gold medal in 2007 and was named the city's adoptive son in 2014), but we believe this goes a step further," said Councilor Fernando Martínez Vidal, explaining the plans as reported by Ubitennis.com .
Nadal would like to have finished his career first
An honor the Spaniard would like to accept, but not until he has finished his professional career, as Vidal explained: "Nadal feels comfortable playing in the Caja Magica but he doesn't want his rivals to be uncomfortable feel when they play in a facility that bears his name. "
The Barcelona Open has been played on a court named after the Spaniard since 2017. The fact that a second one will now follow in Spain has been put on hold for the time being. As the Spanish Marca reported on Tuesday, the application of the political party VOX has been rejected until further notice. "Currently is not the right time," the opposition said. In this case, postponement is not canceled, as those responsible in the city council agreed. The cause will be discussed again when the time is right. And that will probably be the case as soon as Rafael Nadal has finished his career.