{"id":294307,"date":"2023-10-25T09:25:26","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T09:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/?p=294307"},"modified":"2023-10-25T09:25:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T09:25:26","slug":"lionel-messi-called-nadal-win-lucky-in-private-chat-with-argentine-tennis-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportslifetale.com\/tennis\/lionel-messi-called-nadal-win-lucky-in-private-chat-with-argentine-tennis-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Messi called Nadal win ‘lucky’ in private chat with Argentine tennis star"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Diego Schwartzman has revealed that Lionel Messi thought Rafael Nadal was \u201clucky\u201d to win a tight contest at the French Open. The Argentine tennis star met Messi ahead of the 2018 World Cup, days after he lost to Nadal in a match that was rained off while Schwartzman was leading by a set and a break.<\/p>\n

Schwartzman has long been a fan of Messi given that the two both hail from Argentina. The former world No 8 was in the stands to cheer on his nation at last year\u2019s World Cup and he headed stateside to watch Messi make his Inter Miami debut in the Leagues Cup this summer where he was caught chatting to the footballing icon on the bench.<\/p>\n

But his first meeting with the former Barcelona star came a few years earlier, when he learned that Messi had tuned into his match against Nadal at the French Open. \u201cThe first time I met him, it was before the World Cup in Russia in 2018,\u201d the 31-year-old said in a conversation with his rivals Andrey Rublev, Christopher Eubanks and Jan-Lennard Struff during the Ultimate Tennis Showdown.<\/p>\n

\u201cI lost to Rafa in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and I was a set and break up. And after that date, I had my flight from Barcelona and the Argentinians were doing their preparation for the World Cup there with the national team.\u201d<\/p>\n

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While Schwartzman was focused on meeting one of his heroes, it seemed that Messi wanted to chat about the match. The four-time title winner continued: \u201cSo I went there with a few players and spoke [to him]. And the first thing he said to me was, \u2018How lucky was Rafa?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Spanish obviously, \u2018How lucky was Rafa with the rain?\u2019 Because I was a set and a break ahead and the rain stopped the match. I was leading 6-4 3-1 and break point for 4-1 and after that we played like 15 minutes and then came back the next day. And after that I lost like, it was too easy for him playing with the sun at noon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Messi\u2019s comment came as a welcome surprise to Schwartzman, who joked that he was just happy to learn that the seven-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner knew who he was. Smiling, he added: \u201cBut while Messi was telling me that I was thinking, \u2018He was watching the match, he knows who I am.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n