Watch: Rafael Nadal congratulates footballer Sadio Mane for winning Africa Cup of Nations
Rafael Nadal took to Instagram on Friday to congratulate Sadio Mane for helping Senegal win the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Senegal defeated Egypt 4-2 on penalties in the final last weekend (6 February) to bag their maiden AFCON title.
Appearing in a video shared to Instagram by football media house 433, Nadal commended the team's star striker on the "incredible achievement". The World No. 5 further added that he was looking forward to meeting Mane soon.
"I want to congratulate you. It's amazing that you achieved the Africa Cup, I think, for the first time. I am very happy for you. I wish you all the very best," Nadal said. "Enjoy this incredible achievement, and I hope one day we will meet. See you soon!"
Interestingly, Sadio Mane himself had congratulated Rafael Nadal for his triumph at the 2022 Australian Open. Nadal overturned a two-set deficit in the final against Daniil Medvedev at Melbourne Park to win his 21st Grand Slam title, becoming the first man in tennis history to reach that number.
The two videos can be seen in the Instagram post below:
The Liverpool forward referred to the Nadal's performance against Medvedev as "incredible", and expressed hope that his team could achieve a similar result in their own final.
"I want to say congratulations," Mane had said. "I watched [the 2022 Australian Open final]. You were unbelievable. And, hopefully, we are also going to make it tomorrow."
As he had hoped, things eventually worked out for the Lions. Although Mane missed a penalty in the seventh minute of normal time, he held his composure during the final shootout.
With the last kick of the match, the 29-year-old sealed the tie in his country's favor.
Sadio Mane scored three goals across the campaign to finish as Senegal's highest scorer. For his performances, he was given the Player of the Tournament award and also included in the Team of the Tournament.
Rafael Nadal has confirmed his participation at the Indian Wells Masters
On the tennis side of things, Rafael Nadal has already confirmed that he will be playing at the Indian Wells Masters. The ATP 1000 event will be held from 10 to 20 March, and feature several other top players including Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev.
Good news Rafa fans 🔥
Rafael Nadal can't wait to play Tennis and Golf in Indian Wells 😍
#RafaelNadal #IndianWells #Tennis https://t.co/QGEq85NMg3
Having already won the tournament thrice so far, Nadal will try to clinch his fourth title after sitting out the last edition. Before making the trip to Indian Wells, the World No. 5 is also scheduled to compete in the Acapulco Open at the end of this month (21 to 27 February).
That said, there has been no confirmation so far - from either the tournament organizers or the 21-time Grand Slam champion himself - regarding his participation at the ATP 500 event.