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Moya honored after retirement at ATP Finals

(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-11-22 13:38

Tennis players (L-R) Tomas Berdych of Spain, Carlos Moya of Spian, Rafael Nadal of Spain, Roger Federer of Switzerland and Novak Djokovic of the Serbia pose for a group photo during a ceremony to honor the retired Moya on the opening day of the ATP World Tour Finals.  [Photo/Xinhua]

LONDON - Four days after announcing his retirement from tennis, former top-ranked player Carlos Moya was back on court and the center of attention.

This time, however, he was wearing a suit instead of shorts and tennis shoes.

The 34-year-old Spaniard, who retired on Wednesday after a 15-year career and one Grand Slam title, was honored Sunday on the opening day of the ATP World Tour Finals.

"It's always great when people remember you, even when you're not at the top," Moya said after getting a round of applause from the packed crowd at the O2 Arena. "Although I didn't play great here at Wimbledon well, I one year played fourth round they treat me very well always."

Moya, who won the 1998 French Open and reached the Australian Open final the year before, was brought out on court shortly after Andy Murray beat Robin Soderling 6-2, 6-4 in the opening match of the season-ending tournament for the top eight players in the world.

Moya, who quit the game because of a nagging foot injury, won 20 ATP titles and played his last match in May at the Madrid Masters. He became the first Spaniard to become No. 1 in the rankings, in March 1999.

He was an early training partner of Rafael Nadal, who is also from the island of Mallorca and was present at the ceremony.

"Knowing him for so long makes it special for me because first time I met him he was just 11, 12 years old," Moya said of Nadal's success. "When he was 13, 14 years old, we were practicing together. I was near the top 10 and sometimes he was beating me during the practice.

"I realized he had something special, but could never think that he could be that good, to be honest. He's one of the greatest ever. But he's on his way to become, who knows, but maybe the greatest. I could never expect that, to be honest."