US Open 2019: This video of Rafael Nadal saving a crying kid will melt your heart - WATCH VIDEO
Rafael Nadal, who is bidding for a fourth US Open title at Flushing Meadows, won hearts with a beautiful gesture off the tennis court.
tennis Updated: Sep 03, 2019 16:29 IST
Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal has won 18 Grand Slam titles in his illustrious career. But apart from his brilliance on the field, he is also known as one of the generous players in the current circuit. In the ongoing US Open tournament, in which the World No. 2 is bidding for his fourth title at the Flushing Meadows, he won hearts with a beautiful gesture off the field. In one of the videos which has went viral on the social media, Nadal was seen saving a young kid from a swarm of fans, who were squishing the youngling in a bid to take an autograph from Nadal.
Nadal, after seeing the kid in between the fans, immediately reached out to him, lifted him up and and pulled him out from the stands. The Spaniard, then, consoled the kid until he stopped crying and then gave him an autograph on his hat.
Moments like these 🤗🙌@rafanadal | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/FFWoDAiBaw
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 30, 2019
Rafael Nadal faced his stiffest challenge yet at the U.S. Open but raised his game to beat Marin Cilic 6-3 3-6 6-1 6-2 on Monday and continue his quest for a fourth Flushing Meadows title. The second-seeded Spaniard was in cruise control as he took the first set behind some superb serving and stout defence but the big-hitting Croatian battled back to snatch the second.
That was as good as it would get for Cilic, however, the momentum shifting decisively in Nadal’s favour when he jumped in the air to hit a spectacular overhead smash that electrified the crowd.
Cilic would double fault later in the game to give Nadal a 3-1 lead and he would never threaten again on a hot and humid night in New York, with Tiger Woods among the star-studded crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium cheering on the Spaniard.
Nadal fired a forehand winner on match point to seal the victory and make his 40th quarter-final at a Grand Slam event. “For some moments in the second set I felt there was too many points in his hands,” said Nadal.
“He was pushing me back ... after (the) second set I thought something needed to change.”
First Published: Sep 03, 2019 15:57 IST