The tennis world has offered a fond salute to Rafael Nadal following his retirement announcement, with even old foe Nick Kyrgios begging him not leave the stage he's graced so dazzlingly for so long.
Australian tennis stars of different generations were among those saluting the great Spaniard after Nadal declared on Thursday he would be retiring from the game after the Davis Cup finals in November.
Rod Laver hailed the 38-year-old, who won two of his 22 grand slam titles in the Melbourne arena named after the great Aussie, as a "truly remarkable human".
