Rafael Nadal has taken the tennis world by storm with his winning start at the Barcelona Open on Tuesday. He was last seen in action at the Brisbane International earlier this year. But after that, he was busy nursing a minor injury and waiting for the right time to prowl on his prey. He defeated Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in the first-round match of the tournament. The 37-year-old has already hinted at taking retirement at the end of this season. Now, the tennis world has started to recall their fond memories surrounding the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

American tennis legend, Andy Roddick was recently joined by Mike and Bob Bryan at his special podcast ‘Served with Andy Roddick.’ During the podcast, Mike Bryan spoke about how young Rafael Nadal proved himself to be a tough nut to crack at the 2004 Davis Cup Finals. Mike Bryan said that he remembers that night before the match when they were almost like celebrating when Spain pulled out Juan Carlos Ferrero, to replace him with a teenager named Rafael Nadal. “We were like ‘OMG they’re idiots, I can’t believe they are putting in Nadal,” Bryan said .

He further went on to add, “We thought we had a chance. And then against Nadal, I think Nadal became Nadal in that match in front of his fans.” Spain had won that final against USA by 3-2 at the Estadio Olimpico in Seville. But just before this meeting with Rafael Nadal. Mike Bryan recalled that Andy Roddick had defeated the same teenager a couple of months ago at the US Open.

Andy Roddick met Nadal for the very first at that match in the 2004 US Open. Roddick was then the defending champion of the US Open and had defeated the Spaniard by 6-0,6-3,6-4 in just 1 hour 36 minutes. Despite the result, Roddick was heavily impressed with the grit and determination of the teenager in that match. The teenager from Mallorca then later went on to take a lead in their H2H with a 7-3 margin. Who would have known at that time, Rafael Nadal would win 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 French Open titles in the future?

Andy Roddick says “We are lucky” to have someone like Rafael Nadal in the racket sport

During the podcast ‘Served with Andy Roddick,’ in March this year, Andy Roddick spoke highly of the Spanish tennis legend. He said, “We are lucky to have someone like Rafa in tennis for as long as we have.” He highlighted that irrespective of him being a fierce competitor on the court. But off the court, Rafael Nadal is the most down-to-earth tennis player that he has ever come across on the tour.

“Shaking hands of every single person, there’s no chance he can feel like doing that crap every day. There’s just no chance. True gentleman, I like that and it felt like a celebration of him in like a thank you for what you have given us over the years,” Roddick added. Enjoy the moment while it lasts. Yes, that’s the exact message that all the tennis legends are currently trying to spread among the fans surrounding Rafael Nadal’s activities this year. Share your thoughts on Rafael Nadal’s recent victory at the Barcelona Open.