Rafael Nadal Tributes Victory to Roberto Bautista Agut in Emotional Interview

Published 11/23/2019, 11:18 AM EST

Follow Us

World No.1 Rafael Nadal dedicates Spain’s Davis Cup 2019 quarterfinals 2-1 win over Argentina to his team-mate Roberto Bautista Agut, who withdrew from the 18-nation event following the death of his father on Thursday.

Rafael Nadal was keen to dedicate the victory to Roberto Bautista Agut during the post-match press conference as he said: “Unanimously, from all the team, this victory is for Roberto and his beloved ones. He’s living a tough time, but he’s a very strong person who has had to live very tough things and even under his circumstances he’s been sending us encouragement messages all the time.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

“So, we simply want to thank him for his strength and all the support he’s sent us from the distance. I wish he can be strong enough to come back. We just wish him the best and send him lots of encouragement and strength at this moment,” the World No.1 said.

The Spain Davis Cup 2019 team clearly wanted to show their support to Roberto Bautista Agut as they left a space on the line during the national anthem in honor of the World No.9.

Roberto Bautista Agut Pulls Out of Davis Cup 2019 with a Heartbreaking News

Roberto Bautista Agut also thanked his team-mates with a tweet reading, “I want to thank you all for so many shows of affection and respect after the loss of my father. I feel very loved and surrounded by colleagues, friends, family, and followers. Thanks from my heart.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Argentina had taken a 1-0 lead after Guido Pella defeated Pablo Carreno Busta, who is Bautista’s replacement as Spain’s second singles player. Rafael Nadal then secured a victory over Diego Schwartzman and brought Spain back into the match.

The 19-time Grand Slam champion then partnered with Marcel Granollers for the deciding doubles match and got the better of Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Leonardo Mayer in a thrilling three-setter to reach the last four of the revamped Davis Cup 2019 Finals.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

The five-time champion Spain will next face Great Britain in the semifinals of the Davis Cup 2019 at the Caja Majica stadium in Madrid on Saturday.

 

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Varun Khanna

1,339Articles

One take at a time

Starting off as a tennis author in 2018, Varun Khanna has gone on to contribute to EssentiallySports in various capacities. After setting up interviews with the likes of Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Alizé Cornet, and Noah Rubin, Varun is now part of all major ATP and WTA press conferences and has gone on to pen more than 1300 articles for EssentiallySports. He now heads the tennis and NBA division of the organization.
Show More>