Rafael Nadal has been praised as the saviour of what was a ‘boring opening ceremony’ for Paris 2024 after his surprise appearance towards the end.
Nadal is in Paris for what will be his final Olympic Games before retiring from the sport.
It’s in France where the Spaniard has etched his name into history having won the French Open an unprecedented 14 times in his career.
And he was a surprise guest as part of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony on Friday night as the torch began its final journey to the cauldron.
Rafael Nadal is set to play in both the singles and doubles draw
BBC
Nadal was greeted to huge cheers on stage as he took the torch away from France football icon Zinedine Zidane.
And many felt Nadal’s appearance was enough to salvage what they felt was otherwise a disappointing showcase.
One viewer noted: “I almost turned off the TV because the opening ceremony was a bit boring, until I saw Zidane and Nadal.”
Another said: “This moment with Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams makes up for the entire opening ceremony tbh.”
A third posted: “The opening ceremony has suddenly got good. Zidane, Nadal, Williams?! That’s the way to do it.”
One other person wrote: “NADAL!!!! Best part of the ceremony.”
Another message read: “Thank god for Zidane and Rafa Nadal. At least some positive things to look at from this boring opening ceremony.”
Nadal ended up getting on a boat on the Seine where he was joined by Serena Williams, Carl Lewis and Nadia Comaneci.
Rafael Nadal took the torch from Zinedine Zidane
BBC
The torch then embarked on its final journey with a host of athletes carrying it before the Olympic flame was lit.
Nadal will be hoping for one final decent run at the Olympics having won both the singles and doubles titles previously.
The Spaniard will join Carlos Alcaraz in a formidable doubles partnership and could be on course to face Novak Djokovic in the second round of the singles.
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But his coach Carlos Moya revealed this week that the 38-year-old had suffered a ‘setback’ in training.
“It has been a setback and we have decided that Rafa should rest today and not train to recover,” Moya said.
“We are going to give ourselves 48 hours. I can’t say anything for sure. We have to wait.”