I posted this reel on Instagram right after Rafa lost his match in the Davis Cup, which was essentially his last professional match and was also his moment of retirement.
I downloaded the reel, but the music wasn’t available to download so it’s silent. Sing along to whatever tune you choose.
Yes, I know a photo appears twice. I was editing quickly and missed it.
The on-court photos that appear to have been taken by amateurs have been taken by amateurs. Namely, me. The on-court photos with Rafa and Feli López wearing blue shirts and white baseball caps were not taken by me, but were taken by someone who was sitting to my left. That person also appears in this video posing with Rafa in a conference room I reserved. I snapped that photo during the second interview with Rafa which I have not mentioned until this day. You’ll see me kneeling down with my elbows on the table. No, I was not angry. I was very tired.
The closing goodbye you’ll see at the end of this video, as well as a similar variation in the previous video, is paraphrased from something Rafa signed for me all those years ago. I will never forget it.
¡Vamos, Rafa! Por siempre.
“It's Amy,” I said. 
Well, I mean, if you’re going to duplicate a photo, that’s a nice one. I have loved watching rafa. What a wonderful story you have with him.
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Thanks, Susan. It was an honest mistake, but I wasn’t about to delete the whole reel when it is one of my favorite photos. It was a special time.
When I wanted to post my interview with Rafa here on my blog (the second interview I did attend and asked questions but I facilitated that interview for someone else, so I was not able to post any of it. Unfortunately, that man has passed away, and I couldn’t ask him for permission to post it here), I did some research and found out the interviewer and the interviewee each “own” half of the interview. So that meant I had to ask 2024 Rafa if I could post it here. I’m sure you can imagine how many millions of messages he gets, but I had to try or I wouldn’t have been able to, in good conscience, post the interview. I sent him a message on another social media platform with the photo and the request to post the interview from 2006. He didn’t verbally answer, but he did view my story. I took that as a silent yes, and here we are. Rafa has the memory of an elephant, and I’m quite sure that he remembers.
I hope as I get older, I retain my memory of 2005, 2006 (especially) and 2007. The three summers of tennis tournaments that I hope to never forget.
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I’ve watched his match a couple times before and now comes his retirement(which federer already did). Time flies. Thanks for sharing.
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beautiful memories to have!
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