Tennis The little-known stories of Rafael Nadal during his visits to Chile

Last Tuesday, Rafael Nadal He played his last match as a professional and ended a legendary career over 20 years, which led him to be world number one for 209 weeks and to win 22 Grand Slam tournaments, including 14 at Roland Garros. Awesome.

Its relationship with Chile officially began in 2013 when he surprised the whole world by entering the ATP 250 in Viña del Mar, a competition he never imagined would have Rafa in the main draw.

Álvaro Fillol tournament director at the time, remembers how the greatest shot in the history of the competition was created. “He was coming off a long injury and needed to start on clay, in a tournament with a more accessible draw. That’s when they contacted us and the negotiation happened quite quickly. He asked us for a guarantee that was not as high as what he usually asked for and we gave him a private plane so that he could then go to Sao Paulo,” he says.

The invitation was confirmed a few days before the start of the tournament and the effect was impressive. “The tickets were sold all week, which didn’t even happen to us with Chino Ríos at his best,” he emphasizes.

This created a problem. “We had built a small stadium and we had to enlarge it in record time and we had to make magic,” he confesses.

Fillol declassifies two very curious anecdotes. “Rafa didn’t want to play in the evening, it made him uncomfortable, and there we had a difficult problem with television, because they wanted him to play in the evening for the audiences. Also, I was struck by the fact that I was nervous for my debut, because I didn’t know what was going to happen on the pitch,” he says of his debut in Viña.

The second floor is also picturesque. “ To Rafa We stayed at the Miramar and what he liked the most was the avocado. Every day he asked for avocado, he really loved it,” reveals Fillol.

As for the results, Nadal lost both in the singles final. against the Argentinian Horacio Zeballos, as well as in doubles, where he teamed up with the trans-Andean Juan Mónaco, losing to the Italians Potito Starace and Paolo Lorenzi.

During his travels across the country in 2013, Rafael Nadal visited La Moneda Palace every time. There he was received by the deceased former president Sébastien Pinera and other authorities, like the former Minister Secretary General of the Government Cecilia Pérez.

Former spokesperson offers tasty behind-the-scenes glimpses of these meetings. “The first visit took place in February 2013. He met the President accompanied by the Fillol brothers, Nicolás Massú and Fernando González. We spent a little over an hour talking in the courtroom,” he says.

“I remember him saying that it was the first time he had come to Chile and that he appreciated the affection and recognition of the Chileans. He told us how his injury and his convalescence went, since he had been absent from the world circuit for several months for this reason,” he adds.

The current vice-president of Azul Azul was surprised to see how studious Manacorí was: “He is a very kind and pleasant person, and I was struck by his knowledge of history and culture. The president was happy and asked him a lot of questions about tennis. “He really loved playing tennis, so he was in his element.”

The meeting continued with an exchange of gifts: “He gave the president a tennis bag with a racket and the president gave him the book La Moneda, which Nadal immediately began to look through and consult the president about the information contained therein.”

In November of the same year, Nadal returned to Chile to play an exhibition with Novak Djokovic. “That time he went to La Moneda with Djokovic, David Nalbandian, Christian Garin and Nicolás Massú. They were received by the President in the same room. It lasted more than two hours, during which we talked about their experiences on the world circuit and the affection they felt for Nicolás Massú, which was reflected in the fact that on this occasion they were at the Chile to accompany him in his farewells,” he emphasizes.

He admits to having framed photos of the two meetings: “One with our Olympic medalists, Nicolás and Fernando, and another with Nadal and Djokovic. “These are beautiful memories, among the best in the world, which I cherish with great affection.”

Rafael Nadal’s last visit to Chile was in November 2022 to face Alejandro Tabilo in an exhibition in San Carlos de Apoquindo.

The event was organized by the Fashion Museum, headed by its creator Jorge Yarur. There, the Spanish star experienced a very moving moment when he was interviewed by kinesiologist Marcelo Valencia, seriously affected by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

“Marcelo had a great career, he worked at the Catholic University, at the University, he was a kinesiologist of the national team during the World Cup in Brazil, and among his patients he had Jorge Yarur, with with whom he formed an excellent relationship. “He did not hesitate to support him as the illness progressed,” remembers journalist Mario Cavalla. who was part of the team behind this meeting with the star.

The idea for an interview came from Valencia himself. “He felt indebted and wanted to repay this affection in some way. And that’s when the opportunity arose to be able to interview athletes, using a special program to communicate. explains the professional.

Nadal happily agreed to be the first guest in this series of interviews which will then be broadcast on Bío-Bío TV: “There was a very nice interview. Rafa was engaged, he felt interested and moved by what happened to Marcelo. Besides, no one in this state had ever questioned him. And we see that the guy is moved, shaken, but he shows great affection at the beginning, during and after the interview.”

Marcelo Valencia died on January 15 of this year leaving an indelible mark and a beautiful story with Rafael Nadal.