Rafael Nadal meets with parents of child suffering from laryngeal cleft in Cincinnati

Rafael Nadal spared some time to meet two special fans at the coin toss before his Cincinnati Open match on Wednesday.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion was introduced to Brittnee Anderson and Brandon Sayre, the parents of Boston Rafael, on the Center Court in Cincinnati. The meet-up was organized by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

Young Boston Rafael was born in March this year with a laryngeal cleft. After his initial treatment at the Minnesota Children’s Hospital, he was airlifted to Cincinnati Children's Hospital upon prompt advice, where he is currently being treated in the NICU. His parents, who are big fans of the 36-year-old Nadal, have named their child after the tennis legend.

The duo were thrilled to be able to meet their icon. The Cincinnati Children’s Hospital hospital shared the delightful news on their social media and thanked everyone involved in making the interaction happen.

“We were thrilled to help give Brittnee and Brandon Anderson an experience they will never forget while their son is being treated in our NICU. As you can tell by their son’s middle name, the Anderson’s are BIG fans of @rafaelnadal! This week they got to meet him at the coin toss for his match at the Western & Southern Open @cincytennis! Thanks to everyone who helped give this family a night they will never forget!” they said.

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Rafael Nadal likely to enter the US Open as the second seed

Rafael Nadal was defeated in his opening match in Cincinnati by Borna Coric

Current World No. 3 Rafael Nadal is all but confirmed to enter the US Open main draw as the second seed.

The Mallorcan's comeback was cut short as he suffered a shock loss in his opening match against Borna Coric at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. This marks the second time Coric has defeated the 36-year-old on the center court in Cincinnati.

Nadal's ranking, however, is not disturbed as he has almost no points to defend owing to his hiatus in the latter part of 2021 and Cameron Norrie’s victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals on Friday.

World No. 4 Alcaraz trails behind his veteran countryman by 440 points. Had he won the Cincinnati Masters, the teenager would have leapfrogged two spots to take second place in the rankings.

The ATP rankings are currently led by Daniil Medvedev at the No. 1 spot with Alexander Zverev following the Russian at No. 2. Zverev, however, has been missing in action ever since his freak injury during the semifinals of the French Open against Nadal.

The German is expected to represent his country at the Davis Cup in September and is scheduled to headline the Stockholm Open in October. His presence at the coming week’s US Open, however, remains in doubt.

The 25-year-old’s absence would guarantee Nadal's entry into the US Open as the No. 2 seed.