Rafael Nadal’s son, lovingly called ‘Rafa Jr,’ was adorably seen watching his dad take on Cameron Norrie in the second round of the 2024 Nordea Open. He was completely engaged in the match as he sat on his mother Maria Francisca Perello’s lap and continued his stressful watching.
After a disappointing clay swing, Nadal decided to skip the grass season to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics which will be held at Roland-Garros. The Spaniard will compete in singles as well as doubles, for which he will be teaming up with Carlos Alcaraz.
The 38-year-old entered the singles and doubles alongside Casper Ruud at the Nordea Open in Bastad to play some competitive matches. He has reached the semifinals in doubles, and has been impressive so far in singles as well. He kicked off his campaign with a comfortable straight-set win against Bjorn Borg’s son Leo to set up a second-round meeting with fifth seed Cameron Norrie.
The World No. 261 easily dealt with the Brit, handing him a 6-4, 6-4 defeat in an hour and 41 minutes to reach the quarterfinals. Though there was a moment in the second set when he found himself 1-4 down, the Spaniard dug deep to turn things around in his style.
An adorable Rafa Jr. stole the spotlight yet again as he was seen stressfully watching the encounter between his dad and Norrie. The one-year-old was seated on his mother Maria Francisca Perello’s lap as both continued to watch the match with their entire focus.
Rafa Jr. was born on October 2002. The one-year-old has recently been seen accompanying his father on the tour and was present at the campaign at the European clay swing this year. The adorable Rafa Jr. often steals the show for many reasons, a common one being his mannerisms being similar to his father’s.
“Victories like today help to be in the rhythm the whole match” – Rafael Nadal reaches first QF on clay since French Open 2022
Rafael Nadal has reached his first quarterfinals on clay since the 2022 French Open. During the on-court interview, the Spaniard said that he was happy to have reached the final eight and explained the need to be aggressive if he had any chance to do so against a player of Norrie’s caliber.
“Great feelings. It’s been a while without playing on tour… since Roland Garros. To have the chance to compete well against a great player like Cameron.. these are great feelings. I played for moments good tennis. For moments I needed to play more aggressive. That’s part of the journey today.”
He admitted the importance of these matches and how they helped him stay in rhythm for the entirety of the match.
“I haven’t been competing very often. Matches and victories like today help to be in rhythm the whole match and put the pressure on the opponent during the whole match. That’s something I need to improve today. Because I haven’t played enough.”
Rafael Nadal will play fourth seed Marian Navone in the quarterfinals of the Nordea Open, in what will be the first match between the two men. This will be the Spaniard’s second quarterfinal of the season after the Brisbane International where he fell to Jordan Thompson.
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Source: USA Today
