Rafael Nadal has hailed the brilliance of Alex de Minaur, calling him "a great player" after the Australian forced the Spanish legend to say an emotional farewell to the Barcelona Open, the beloved tournament he's won a dozen times.
Nadal made it clear after being outplayed 7-5 6-1 by de Minaur on Wednesday that this was going to be his last competitive performance on the court named after him at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona.
But the 37-year-old, for whom this was a first tournament in three months and only his second in more than a year after being plagued with injuries, said he was delighted just to have been able to make his Barcelona farewell on the Pista Rafa Nadal.
