"Good training session Rafael Nadal, good luck for the Australian Open... fingers crossed!" - Nico Rosberg, who is notorious for jinxing athletes
Nico Rosberg recently took to Twitter to send his best wishes to Rafael Nadal, who is playing his first Major in nearly six months at this year's Australian Open.
Rosberg, a former F1 champion, reposted an old video of him and Nadal playing a game of ping pong on the latter's yacht. The German quote-tweeted the video, which dates back to September last year, with a wholesome caption.
He first claimed tongue-in-cheek that he had served as a good hitting partner for the Spaniard, before proceeding to wish him luck for his 2022 Australian Open campaign.
"Good training session, Rafa. Good luck for the Australian Open...fingers crossed!" Rosberg tweeted.
Good luck for the #AustralienOpen...fingers crossed! twitter.com/NicoRosberg/st…
Good training session, @RafaelNadal 😁 Good luck for the #AustralienOpen...fingers crossed! twitter.com/NicoRosberg/st…
The duo met last year at the Monaco Yacht Show presented by Sunreef Yachts, an event that aimed to showcase the best sailing boats in the world. The 35-year-old himself put his Sunreef boat on display at the event, during which he ran into not only Nico Rosberg but the Prince of Monaco as well.
He subsequently invited the former F1 champion onto his yacht, following which Rosberg recorded a video of him talking to the Spaniard about attending the star-studded boat show. The German later took to social media to thank the Spaniard for hosting him on his yacht.
It was great to meet you today @RafaelNadal ! Thanks for the nice chats and showing me around your boat. See you soon!✌️
@SunreefYachts #sunreefyachts #sunreefxnico #sunreefxrafa https://t.co/2SO1i4RWz6
Rosberg must have thought that wishing Nadal would send the tennis community into raptures. Many, however, pointed out that Rosberg is notorious for jinxing athletes ahead of big sporting events.
A Twitter user named Bored F1 fan claimed jokingly that Nadal's campaign Down Under was, for all intents and purposes, over thanks to Rosberg's "legendary jinxing powers." Another fan named Sasak beckoned the German champion to spare the Spaniard and delete his tweet while he still could.
"You know the rules and so do I..... Rafa will lose, Nico strikes again with his legendary jinx powers," an F1 fan tweeted.
"Nico delete this right now, Please delete!" another fan wrote in the replies.
@NicoRosberg @RafaelNadal you know the rules and so do i..... nadal will lose, nico strikes again with his legendary jinx powers
@NicoRosberg @RafaelNadal NICO DELETE THIS RIGHT NOWWW PLEASE DELETE
For academic purposes, Rosberg is so notorious for jinxing his fellow sportsmen that he even has a Twitter page named "Did Nico Rosberg Jinx" dedicated to him.
Rosberg tweeted in favor of Nadal in his 2017 Australian Open final against Roger Federer, a match the Swiss won in five sets. He even visited Serbia two days before Novak Djokovic's visa was canceled for a second time!
Rafael Nadal looking to win first Australian Open title in 13 years
Rafael Nadal is vying for a record-breaking 21st Major in Melbourne. The Spaniard was out of commission for nearly six months in 2021 due to a foot injury but has shown no signs of physical discomfort so far.
The World No. 5 is currently riding a five-match winning streak. But he will have to douse Karen Khachanov's challenge in the third round on Friday if he wants a shot at winning his first title in Melbourne since 2009.