Feliciano Lopez talks of Rafael Nadal's initiative

• Tennis News
• ATP Tennis

Like his colleagues and friends in the tennis fraternity, Feliciano Lopez, too, has been affected by the cancellation of the tennis tour up to 13th July, 2020. It has also been a double whammy for the Spaniard given his position as the tournament director of the Mutua Madrid Open.

In a recent conversation with Diario Sport, the Toledo native shared his thoughts on the tournament being cancelled – a decision that he termed was the only one that could be taken given the circumstances. Not only because of the widespread nature of the pandemic in the world but also because of what Spain is facing, with increased cases and death rates dotting its trajectory.

According to the 38-year-old, because of what the country – and the city – has been grappling with, a tennis tournament was the last thing on people’s minds. Thus, Lopez added that although everyone had worked hard across an entire year to ensure that fans would have another opportunity to enjoy the event, recent happenings had put tournament organisation second on the list of everyone’s priorities.

Rafael Nadal’s Initiative Lopez also spoke about his compatriot and world no. 2 Rafael Nadal’s efforts to raise funds to help those in need during the ongoing pandemic. Nadal and former Spanish basketball player Pau Gasol have created a specific fundraising campaign “NuestraMejorVictoria” (Our Best Victory) that aims to raise around €11 million ($11.8 million) for the needy.

This fundraiser is a part of the Red Cross Responds initiative and seeks financial commitments from Spanish sportspersons. Several Spanish sports people have since joined in for the cause. Speaking highly of the initiative, Lopez commended Nadal and said, “These are great positives that demonstrate the power of sports, and that of great athletes such as Nadal and Gasol conveying the values of solidarity, commitment, team-work, and over-coming (of difficulties)”.