With the onset of the clay-court season, all eyes were on Rafael Nadal, who was set to make a comeback. The Spanish legend missed almost the entire hard-court season this year due to injuries. However, he hasn’t disappointed his fans by making a much-awaited return to clay. Nadal is currently in his home country where he is participating in the Madrid Open. Ahead of his round of 32 clash, the 22-time Grand Slam champion received a major boost.

With the end of his career nearing, the onus was on Nadal to put up a spirited fight in what could be his last tournament in Spain. He did exactly so by winning a couple of matches to enter the third round of the tournament. And he already has an upper hand in his next match, even before the start of the contest.

Wife and mother of Rafael Nadal spotted in his box

The former World Number 1 is currently facing Pedro Cachin in the round of 32 clash in Madrid. Minutes ago, before the start of his match, a post went viral on social media, showing Nadal’s wife, Maria, his mother, Ana, and many close ones present in his box. His family members made it to his match to cheer Nadal on his farewell tour on home soil.

While Nadal’s wife has often been spotted attending her husband’s matches, the Spaniard’s mother made a surprise visit to Caja Magica. It is interesting to note that although in the same country, the distance between Nadal’s hometown, Mallorca and Madrid is 750 km. Despite this, his family made sure to make it to Nadal’s farewell tour and cheer him on.

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With this, Nadal will be extra motivated to dig deep in the Madrid Open. Apart from his family, the crowd has been right behind Nadal and voicing their support as he takes a step closer to retirement. The Spaniard has often been quizzed about when he will call time on his illustrious career. A few weeks ago, he dropped a sensational update on his retirement.

Nadal to retire after the French Open 2024?

With the former World Number 1 spending a majority of the time on the sidelines over the previous year, questions erupted on his longevity on the tour. Ahead of his comeback, there were many rumors about Nadal retirement coming soon. During an interview, he cleared the air surrounding those rumors.

Nadal said, “This is going to be my last year but I don’t confirm it 100%. I will go day by day. I’ll say it before Roland Garros. I give myself a few months of caution. You know that things can happen, so I can’t define things months in advance after a year without competing.” (Translated using Google Translate)

However, for now, he has to focus on the task at hand, and that is performing well in Madrid. He has already won the first set comfortably 6-1 against Cachin and is looking strong to proceed to the pre-quarterfinals of the Madrid Open.