Dimitrov recalls: "I was so excited".

Rafael Nadal and professional tennis will soon be over.

At the Davis Cup finals in Malaga in November, the Prince of Manacor will be putting an end to his career for good.

To realize the golden page in tennis history that is about to be turned, it's worth listening to what Rafa's colleagues have to say.

For example, we can recall what Grigor Dimitrov said in 2009 when asked about his first face-to-face meeting with Nadal.

The two men first crossed swords in Rotterdam in 2009.

At the time, the Spaniard was world number 1 and the Bulgarian only 478th and invited by the organizers.

However, the match was very close, with the Majorquin winning in 3 fine sets (7-5, 3-6, 6-2).

Speaking to We Love Tennis, he recalls: "The first thing I thought was: 'Wow, I've really done that!

I went out on court, fought Rafa and it lasted two and a half hours!'

I was so excited that I couldn't sleep the night after the match.

In all honesty, I didn't expect to play such a good match."