Lionel Messi is a nice guy, especially with his fellow countrymen. Diego Schwartzman, an Argentinean tennis player, recalled a conversation he had with Messi right after playing a match against Rafael Nadal.

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Schwartzman recently discussed a meeting he had with Messi in 2018, following a match he played against Nadal. While Schwartzman ended up losing the match, he started off strong, losing his stride after the game was paused due to the rain. “Yeah, I met him a few years before. But even if you met him, when you see him, it’s like too much respect, you don’t want to say anything. It’s like, ‘Okay, Hello Leo!’ You know, it’s that you don’t want to ask for anything,” said Schwartzman, per Tennis 365.

When discussing the meeting, Schwartzman said, “The first thing he said to me was: ‘How lucky was Rafa with the rain!’ Because I was a set and break ahead, and the rain stopped the match. I was leading 6-4, 3-1 and break point to lead 4-1, and after that, we played like 15 more minutes, then had to come back the next day.”

“And after that, it was like too easy for him playing with the sun at noon. But he (Messi) said to me that, so I was thinking, ‘Okay, he was watching the match. He knows who I am’ (laughs).”

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Rafa Nadal’s tennis comeback

Rafa Nadal has been on an extended break since the start of the year. After receiving some surgery, going on vacation and rejoining training, everything points to a comeback from the tennis star within short weeks.

"We can reveal exclusively here that Rafa will be back," said Craig Tiley on The Today Show. He claimed Nadal will be back in January, just in time to join the Australian Open.