Rune on Nadal: "What you've done for tennis is incredible".

A member of the new generation, Holger Rune is one of the players who have grown up with the exploits of Rafael Nadal.

A few hours after watching the Spaniard play his last Davis Cup match, the Dane paid tribute to the king of clay.

"Rafa, you were my first idol. My first racket was Babolat, I wore sleeveless shirts with arms that looked like spaghetti when I was 6 years old.

I also had the Nike bandana," Rune began. "I had posters of you in my room (then Roger came along too)," he continued.

"You were the biggest inspiration and we all wanted to be like you. A lot of kids wanted to be like you!

Your personality, your fighting spirit on the court and your results are legendary. What you've done for tennis is incredible. And you're still a great inspiration," wrote the world's 13th-ranked player on his Instagram account.