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'It’s living the dream,' Zizou Bergs explains how special it was to play Rafael Nadal as he loses to him in the first round of Italian Open

Rafael Nadal’s farewell run may be a bittersweet topic but it is surely fulfilling the dreams of many youngsters who looked up to the Spanish legend growing up.

Last week, Pedro Cachin played Rafael Nadal in Madrid and did not waste the opportunity to ask for a souvenir. The Argentinian thanked Rafa for making his dream come true and took home a shirt from the legend himself. Jiri Lehecka, the 22-year-old, had the amazing chance to see off Nadal in what could be his last-ever tournament in Spain.

Today, the King of Clay faced off against Belgian Zizou Bergs, whom he barely made it past. After the match, in a media interaction with Tennis Channel, Bergs admitted he’s living the dream.

It’s living the dream. Living in a highlight reel. I’m very grateful to have this tennis life…You see Rafa Nadal always on tv when you’re young. You call yourself mini Rafa Nadal. You’re wearing the same clothes. I don’t have to tell you how special it is… Zizou Bergs said via Tennis Channel

With Nadal promising to try and compete in all the tournaments that are important to him, tennis lovers are sure to see more such wholesome moments. The up-and-coming stars are getting to face off against one of the best to ever swing a racket before he hangs it up.

Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev explain what it feels like to face Nadal at Roland Garros

It is an undisputed fact that playing Nadal at the French Open is one of the most daunting tasks in all of sport. With Nadal’s staggering 97.4% win rate at the tournament, even the best players in the world emphasize just how much of a challenge it is to play him there.

Both Zverev and Djokovic were asked about this in their respective press conferences before they started their Italian Open campaigns and they had very similar responses, revolving around how Nadal becomes a different best at Philippe Chatrier, the center court in Roland Garros.

So you have some times when he’s really in the zone and in the groove and not making many errors, you feel like he’s impenetrable, he’s like a wall. It’s really a paramount challenge to play him at Roland-Garros, he’s an incredible athlete.

Novak Djokovic said

Djokovic is spot on in his analysis, considering Rafa has only lost thrice at Roland Garros. To the Serbian ace’s credit, he happens to be the one of only two men to beat Nadal at the French Open, and the only man to beat him twice. Nonetheless, Nadal still has a dominating lead of 8–2 over Nole on the clay Major.

Zverev provided a more brutal account of Rafa’s exploits in Paris.

It’s more difficult to hit a winner, especially on Philippe Chatrier, which is a massive court, so he has a lot more space. It is very difficult. It’s probably the biggest challenge in tennis. It’s the biggest challenge that you can have in our sport, playing Nadal on that court. Alexander Zverev said

In a thrilling Roland Garros semi-final in 2022, Alexander Zverev faced Rafael Nadal, captivating the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd. However, the match ended abruptly when Zverev retired due to a rolled ankle while trailing 6-7(8), 6-6, marking a disappointing conclusion to his bid to defeat Nadal at Roland Garros.

This article first appeared on FirstSportz and was syndicated with permission.

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