Los Angeles Lakers legend and basketball Hall of Famer Pau Gasol is extremely proud of his Spanish heritage and regularly supports the athletes from his native country. One of the biggest rising stars in all of sports is Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, who has taken over the mantle in the tennis world from the previous era.
At just 22 years old, Alcaraz already has achieved plenty and has a budding rivalry with 23 year old Italian phenom Jannick Sinner. On Sunday, the two faced off in the French Open Final and put forth what many are calling one of the greatest tennis matches in the history of the sport.
Many across the world were glued to their TVs as Alcaraz defeated Sinner in an epic five-set classic that saw him come back from the brink of defeat on multiple occasions. Gasol was one of those viewers and afterwards, the Lakers legend took to social media and congratulated his fellow Spaniard on winning his fifth major championship:
What an ode to tennis! Congratulations to both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannick Sinner for this final that they have given us lovers of this sport 👏🏼 👏🏼 And THANK YOU to Carlitos for what you’ve made us vibrate this afternoon. You have taught us again why we should never ever give up. Enjoy your second Roland Garros, friend!! 🏆🏆
With Rafael Nadal officially retiring from the sport, Alcaraz has come into that spot as the latest Spanish phenom taking over the sport. But every great needs a rival to push him to that highest level and Sinner is that person for Alcaraz. Sinner won the first two sets and had triple championship point in the fourth, but Alcaraz battled back to take home the championship in the longest final in French Open history, much to Gasol’s delight.
Much like in the NBA, tennis is going through an evolution with the careers of the old guard winding down and new stars stepping up to take their place at the top of the game. Gasol is now at a place where he can sit back and watch this new generation and the Lakers legend is enjoying his fellow countrymen continuing to make history across the world of sports.
Lakers great Pau Gasol grateful to be inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame
In addition to being a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Lakers legend Pau Gasol was also recently inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame for all of his accomplishments internationally in the game of basketball.
Gasol took to social media to thank FIBA for the induction and called it a privilege to be part of the latest FIBA Hall of Fame class.
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