​Rafael Nadal underwent hip surgery this month, but the great Iberian champion cannot stay away from the tennis court and was present as a fan at the ATP 250 tournament in Mallorca.

Rafael NadalPhoto: GJL / Gtres Online / Profimedia

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Rafael Nadal attending the Feliciano Lopez ATP match in Mallorca

Nadal, one of Mallorca’s most famous residents, was in the stands for friend Feliciano López’s match against Australian Max Purcell.

Rafa sat next to his wife (Maria Francisco Perello) and Carlos Moya, Marc Lopez and Bartolome Salva-Vidal were also present at the game.

In the final ATP tournament of his career, Feliciano did not want it to be his last match and triumphed in straight sets 6-3, 7-5.

Lopez (634 ATP, wild-card beneficiary) will play in the 1/8 finals against Jordan Thompson (71 ATP).

Know:

  • The tournament director in Mallorca is Toni Nadal, Rafa’s uncle and former coach.
  • At 41 years and 9 months, Feliciano Lopez is the third oldest player to win an ATP title since 1990, behind Jimmy Connors and Ivo Karlovic.
  • Feliciano Lopez had 11 aces against Purcell. The Spaniard reached 10,244 career aces and surpassed Goran Ivanisevic (10,237).
  • The first meeting between Nadal and Lopez took place in 2003 in Basel, and Feliciano won in a tiebreak in the deciding set. They have been opponents 14 times and Rafa has won 10 matches.
  • Rafael Nadal announced before Roland Garros that 2024 will probably be the last year in his career.