WATCH: Rafael Nadal makes old fan's day at French Open 2024; sends her into a smiling frenzy after giving his autograph

In his usual show of love for his fans, Rafael Nadal recently made an 80-year-old fan smile in Paris as he signed her autograph. The Spaniard is currently gearing up to compete in the 2024 French Open, scheduled to kick off on Sunday. This is most likely his last French Open before his retirement.

The former World No. 1 missed the majority of the 2023 season due to injuries, causing him to slump down as far as 276 in the ATP rankings. The Spaniard, who has won the French Open 14 times, qualified for the tournament via protected ranking. He will be facing fourth seed Alexander Zverev in his first-round match.

On Friday, "Tennis Legend" shared a video on their X account, featuring the 37-year-old walking onto the court for a training session, wearing blue shorts and a white shirt along with his training gear. As he walked in, he met an octogenarian in the lower-tier seating of the stadium. Excitedly, they exchanged pleasantries in French, and Nadal signed her tennis ball while she passed a note to him.

Nadal's last appearance at the French Open was in 2022, where he defeated the likes of Jordan Thompson, Corentin Moutet, Botic van de Zandschulp, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev before defeating Norwegian star Casper Ruud in the final to lift the title for the 14th time.

Boris Becker on Rafael Nadal's French Open first-round tie - “The match is a chance for Alexander Zverev to pick up where he left off with his injury in 2022”

Mutua Madrid Open - Day Nine

German tennis legend Boris Becker recently claimed that the French Open first-round clash between Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev is another chance for the World No. 4 to pick up from where he left off with his injury the last time they faced off.

Nadal will be competing in the 18th French Open of his career, and it also provides an opportunity for a rematch of the semi-finals of the 2022 French Open, where Zverev retired in the second set due to an injury.

While speaking to Eurosport in an exclusive, Becker said that while the Spaniard may be a 14-time French Open champion, he isn't as good as he was in 2022 and it's another chance for the German star to come out victorious.

“I think the match is a chance for Sascha [Zverev] to pick up where he left off with his injury in 2022. Sure, he's competing against the 14-time Roland Garros champion, but Nadal is no longer the same as he was two years ago.” Boris Becker said.

Before the 2022 French Open semifinal, Zverev and the 37-year-old had faced each other nine times, with Zverev winning three of those meetings.