"Trust me that ain’t common" - Journalist hails Rafael Nadal's gesture for the US Open staff after R4 exit

Often lauded by the tennis world for his kind-hearted and gentle behavior on and off the court, Rafael Nadal once again made a warm gesture for the staff at Flushing Meadows.

According to journalist Kurt Streeter, after bowing out of the 2022 US Open on Monday Nadal reached out and thanked every single person on the production team who was working behind the scenes. Streeter, the only witness to Nadal's deed, was also told that this was a habit for the 22-time Grand Slam champion at every tournament he played, regardless of the result.

"Rafa Nadal is such a champion, in every way. Answered questions in the post-match presser in straightforward way, as always, and gave credit/congrats to Tiafoe for winning. Once done w/English & Spanish press, he walked over to the behind-the-scenes production folks in the press room and thanked each one of them for their work during this tournament. I was the only outsider watching. They told me later that he does this after each tournament, win or lose. Trust me that ain’t common. Not at all. Only 1," Streeter tweeted.

When Nadal withdrew from the 2022 Wimbledon Championships in July due to an injury, a video surfaced online where he was seen greeting all the staff members before leaving the venue.

The four-time US Open champion's bid for a record-extending 23rd Grand Slam title was crushed by Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round on Monday, as he lost in four sets. This was Nadal's first defeat at the Majors this year; he had registered 22 consecutive wins coming into the match.

While Nadal won the Australian Open and Roland Garros, an abdominal injury forced him to withdraw from Wimbledon before the semifinals.

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"We can't find excuses, need to be critical enough with myself" - Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal during his fourth-round match

Following his defeat at the 2022 US Open against 22nd seed Frances Tiafoe, Rafael Nadal admitted to not having had the best of preparations. In a post-match press conference, the Mallorcan stated that although he practiced well before the start of the tournament, he failed to carry the momentum into his matches.

"Of course, this was not the ideal preparation for me," Rafael Nadal said. "But in other cases, it went the right way, even without the perfect preparation. We can't find excuses, need to be critical enough with myself. That's the only way to improve or that's the only way that I understand you are able to find solutions. I have been practicing well the week before, honestly. But then when the competition start, my level went down."

"For some reason, I don't know, mental issues in terms of a lot of things happened the last couple of months maybe. But it doesn't matter. At the end, the only thing that happened is we went to the fourth round of the US Open and I faced a player that was better than me. And that's why I am having a plane back home," he added.

Also Check out:- US Open 2022 Schedule