Rafael Nadal, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Joao Sousa surprise TV host, make cameo appearances on The Voice's Christmas special
Tennis icon Rafael Nadal, young gun Stefanos Tsitsipas and Portuguese tennis star Joao Sousa made tennis fan cum host Vasco Palmeirim's Christmas by surprising him during The Voice's Christmas Gala.
Palmeirim, who won the 2022 Golden Globe for "Figure of Entertainment," is an avid tennis fan who also practiced the sport himself during his childhood. He also received a message from the Spaniard and Tsitsipas.
Renowned tennis journalist Jose Morgado turned to social media as he posted pictures of the same on Twitter and wrote:
"Rafael Nadal, João Sousa and Stefanos Tsitsipas surprised Portuguese TV host Vasco Palmeirim (tennis fan who used to play when he was young) during The Voice’s Christmas Special," Morgado captioned his post.
Rafael Nadal, João Sousa and Stefanos Tsitsipas surprised Portuguese TV host Vasco Palmeirim (tennis fan who used to play when he was young) during The Voice’s Christmas Special 🤣 https://t.co/rIbRHAnL3A
The journalist also shared a video of Nadal and Tsitsipas' message to Palmeirim.
Vasco is a big Rafa fan btw: https://t.co/w0igE4FrYy
And Stefanos showing some solid Portuguese 🙌 https://t.co/UGI09xcp81
How did Nadal and Tsitsipas fare in 2022
Spanish legend Rafael Nadal had an eventful 2022 season, winning two Grand Slam singles titles, including a five-hour win over former World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev. The Spaniard also faced an injury crisis which resulted in him being forced to withdraw from the Wimbledon semifinals due to an abdominal tear. He later reflected on his injury and said how it affected him.
"Since that abdominal tear, the year has been a disaster because I ruptured it again the week before the US Open. But I didn't say anything to anyone because I was tired of counting my sorrows," he added.
The 22-time Grand Slam singles winner has also won two ATP tournaments this season, the Mexican Open and the Melbourne Open. Nadal lost to Taylor Fritz in the summit clash at Indian Wells. In the year-end ATP Finals Tour, the southpaw lost two out of his three group-stage matches and thus failed to qualify for the next round.
The World No. 4 lost five ATP tournament finals, including consecutive finals at the Astana Open and the Stockholm Open. In Kazakhstan, the Greek lost to former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, followed by a summit clash defeat to Holger Rune in Sweden. It was the second time Tsitsipas lost a title by losing to the Serbian maestro in the final, after losing to him at the Italian Open.
The 24-year-old won two titles in the Monte Carlo Open and the Mallorca Open. His Grand Slam results in 2022 deteriorated as the season went by. His best result was at the Australian Open, where he lost to Medvedev in the semifinals.