Pedro Cachin asking Rafael Nadal for his shirt after their three-set encounter at the Madrid Open on Monday (April 29) has been met with disapproval from a British journalist. However, fans were quick to shoot the latter’s assertions down as they were delighted at the gesture themselves.

Nadal showcased his famed never-say-die attitude during his third-round outing against Argentina’s Pedro Cachin, coming out the victor by a scoreline of 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3.

During their embrace at the net, the 29-year-old expressed his admiration for the 22-time Major winner before making a request for his match outfit. David Law, a British broadcaster and the host of the ‘Tennis Podcast’, couldn’t make sense of the World No. 91 making such a request despite losing. He posted on X (formerly Twitter):

“Sorry Pedro, asking for your opponent’s shirt at the net ain’t it,” the journalist wrote.

The tennis community was subsequently incensed at the Brit and expressed their disagreement with him. One fan claimed that his take ‘said more about him than Cachin’.

“What an awful take of a beautiful moment! Says more about you than him honestly,” they wrote.

Another fan, meanwhile, was all praises for the Argentine’s fearless display against Rafael Nadal.

“Guy fought like a madman his whole life to be able to experience matches such as this one, worked his butt off and will bring a gem back to his small hometown. This smells entitlement all over it, good thing he won’t really give a damn about it!” they wrote.

Here are a few more reactions from social media:

“What’s wrong with that? There’s no issue with it at all,” one fan wrote.

“Nothing at all wrong with it. Common in most sports. The fact that Nadal is such a sweaty beast makes it a bit more funny but power to Pedro,” another fan wrote.

“I don’t see the problem. He played his idol and wanted a souvenir,” one fan wrote.

“When your childhood inspiration plays you in an epic match in one of his final matches it makes sense. Also, footballers do it all of the time. a gesture of respect and admiration of a hero,” another fan explained.

“It’s really not that deep, and in all likelihood his last chance to face a legend like this. it’s even tradition in other sports such as football,” one fan claimed.

“Hahahaha I know it’s not the normal thing to do. But he knows this is the only chance he would play and have a chat with Rafa. He’s trying his luck,” another fan wrote.

Rafael Nadal wins three back-to-back matches on the ATP Tour for the first time since US Open 2022

Although Rafael Nadal made his much-awaited return to pro tennis in January, he had failed to win three consecutive matches until his Madrid Open campaign this fortnight. The Spaniard has downed 11th-seeded Alex de Minaur, Pedro Cachin, and Darwin Blanch en route to the fourth round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

For academic purposes, Nadal came close to achieving the feat at the Brisbane International, a tune-up event to the Australian Open; he had won his first two matches in straight sets but injured his left hip before wasting a match point during his quarterfinal loss to local favorite Jordan Thompson.

The last time that the 22-time Major winner reeled off at least three wins came at the 2022 US Open, where he lost in the fourth round to eventual semifinalist Frances Tiafoe.

Nadal’s form fell into a rut soon after his Flushing Meadows exit as he dropped seven of his nine matches leading up to last year’s Australian Open, where he injured his left hip during a shock second-round loss to Mackenzie McDonald. The Spaniard didn’t play again in 2023, taking a sabbatical for hip surgery and rehabilitation.