Rory McIlroy has posted a heartfelt message of congratulations to Spanish tennis icon Rafael Nadal after the latter played his final event before retirement on Tuesday.
Nadal is the proud owner of 22 tennis grand slam titles - a record 14 of which were achieved at the French Open - across a 23-year career and walked away from the sport following his nation's defeat to the Netherlands in the Davis Cup quarter-finals earlier this week.
The 'King of Clay' managed 92 ATP-level singles victories, 63 coming on his preferred surface, as well as an Olympic gold medal and retires as the second-most successful men's singles player ever behind one of his three great long-time rivals, Novak Djokovic.
Messages of appreciation from all manner of huge sporting names had been flooding in for Nadal in the days surrounding his last competitive match, with good friend McIlroy leading the golf support via a social-media post of his own.
Nadal - who was born in Mallorca, Spain - has known McIlroy for years and even text the World No.3 immediately after his US Open runner-up finish back in June.
Asked if any of his celebrity friends had offered words of support after a brutal end to the Major, McIlroy said: "Rafa Nadal and Michael Jordan. MJ was maybe the first person to text me after I missed the putt on the 18th hole, but both of them got in touch very, very quickly."
Both former World No.1 players for large parts of their career, McIlroy revealed in a story on his Instagram in the hours after Spain's Davis Cup exit that Nadal was "a hero" and "an inspiration" to him and that he hopes to see the legendary left-hander out on the golf course before too long.
McIlroy posted: "Rafa... From watching you win your first grand slam in 2005 to watching you win your last in 2022, you have been a hero of mine and an inspiration to how I approach my own career. You will be so missed and tennis won't be the same without you.
"Congratulations on one of the finest sporting careers of all time. See you on the course soon! Your friend, Rory."
McIlroy is a huge tennis fan himself and was spotted in the crowd at Flushing Meadows earlier this year as Taylor Fritz defeated Frances Tiafoe in the US Open semi-finals.
Welcome, @McIlroyRory 👋 pic.twitter.com/wMJfYH4Du4September 7, 2024
Meanwhile, Nadal played golf right-handed in between dominating tennis tournaments with his left hand for years, and was a seven-handicapper during his early 20s.
But while Nadal may have said goodbye to professional sport, McIlroy is still very much at the peak of his powers - highlighted by picking up a sixth Race To Dubai title last weekend.
Revealing he still believes there is another decade left in his career yet, McIlroy remains dedicated to hunting down more Majors championships as well as surpassing Colin Montgomerie as the most successful male European golfer ever to play the game.
Speaking at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Sunday evening, the 35-year-old said: "I've come this far, I might as well try and get to eight or nine [Race To Dubai titles}.
"Getting to six and three in a row, and prioritising The Race to Dubai and DP World Tour and trying to achieve something that no one else in the game has achieved if I am to surpass Monty.
"But I've got a good ten years left, I think. Look, again, the other thing is, who knows what the world of golf looks like in a few years' time. But as long as The Race to Dubai is happening and there's an Order of Merit and we're on this tour, I'm going to want it, yeah."
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