"Never associate Rafael Nadal & 'pitiful' in same sentence": Lucas Pouille & Roger-Vasselin slam journalist for 'disrespectful' remark on Spaniard

Lucas Pouille and Edouard Roger-Vasselin recently criticized a journalist's statement on Rafael Nadal.

Nadal is close to drawing curtains on his nearly 23-year-long illustrious tennis career. He turned pro in the year 2001 and is rumored to retire before the 2024 season concludes.

This year, the Spaniard has participated in only one tournament on tour so far, at the Brisbane International 2024. He was due to compete at Indian Wells but pulled out a couple of days before his opener against Canada's Milos Raonic due to fitness woes.

Bertrand Latour, a journalist working for French media giant L'Equipe, recently suggested that the Spaniard should call it quits as soon as possible. Latour claimed that the longer he took to retire, the worse it was going to get.

"Each day that advances brings him closer to an end which will be pitiful and which does not live up to his talent," Latour said on L'Equipe. (translated)

Latour's statement drew criticism from fellow French, and doubles World No. 12, Edouard Roger-Vasselin. The player responded to a video of the L'Equipe segment on X and slammed Latour for his statement.

"Another great journalist.. what a shame!! Please the @lequipe do something… how can we be so disrespectful," Roger-Vasselin wrote. (translated)

French tennis player Lucas Pouille also registered his discontent over Latour's statement on X.

"Please never associate Nadal and "pitiful" in the same sentence again." (translated)

Both Roger-Vasselin and Pouille are in contention at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden at the upcoming ATP 1000 event. Roger-Vasselin will start his campaign in the doubles category alongside compatriot Nicolas Mahut on Friday, March 8.

On the other hand, Lucas Pouille is scheduled to take on 11th-seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday in a second-round battle in the singles draw. Pouille entered the main draw through qualifiers and defeated Germany's Daniel Altmaier in his opener.

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"We are lucky to have someone like Rafael Nadal in tennis for as long as we have" - Andy Roddick

Rafael Nadal

Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick recently suggested that Rafael Nadal's presence on the tennis circuit was a blessing to the sport because of the positive aura around him.

"We are lucky to have someone like Rafa in tennis for as long as we have. Every single person he comes across, it's like he doesn't have an off day with people, right? Shaking hands of every single person, there's no chance he can feel like doing that crap every day. There's just no chance," Roddick said in a recent episode of the Served with Andy Roddick podcast.

Roddick himself has played against the 22-time Grand Slam champion ten times between the years 2004 and 2010. In his first meeting with the Spaniard at the US Open in 2004, Roddick ended as the winner.

Nadal, however, had the last laugh when he defeated the American at Flushing Meadows in 2011 to take a 7-3 lead in the head-to-head. The duo didn't face each other again before Roddick walked away from tennis in 2012.