By Ira Kaufman

For the Mirror

Rafael Nadal, one of the three greatest tennis players of all time, retired last week.

I feel so fortunate that I was able to see Nadal play live dozens of times in New York and Miami and watch hundreds of his matches on television.

Nadal was simply a joy to watch. He approached every single shot like his life was on the line.

Unlike many athletes, he played his best when the pressure was the most intense.

In the biggest points in a match, he would hit out-of-this-world shots.

Time and time again his opponent would hit an apparent winner, and not only would Nadal get to the ball, but he would hit it back with more force and spin.

I watched him play Novak Djokovic in the 2012 Australian Open in a six-hour match in 100 degree temperatures (I was up at 3 a.m. for so many his epic matches).

In the fifth set, Nadal was flying around the court hitting groundstrokes at 95 mph (harder than he had hit the entire match) and not missing a shot.

The class and respect that Nadal showed his two rivals, Djokovic and Roger Federer, should be an example for every athlete in every sport.

He won 22 grand slam titles (second only to Djokovic at 24), 14 French Opens, four U.S. Opens, two Australian Open and two Wimbledon titles — with many of his wins and losses coming against Federer and Djokovic.

The fact that the careers of the three GOATs overlapped set the stage for many of the greatest matches of all time, as each player pushed the other two to reach an even higher level of perfection.

It is not just the number of titles that has made Nadal a legend. It is how he won the titles. He never mailed in a match, a set, a game, a point, or even a shot.

When he was younger, people said he would never have a long career, because no one could play with such ferocious energy over a long career.

Nadal proved all the doubters wrong. He won his first grand slam as a teenager at 19 and his last when he was 36 years old.

I think the French Open made a huge mistake this year having Nadal play unseeded (he lost in the first round to Sasha Zverev).

Knowing he was going to retire this year, the French Open should have seeded him No. 1.

I guarantee not one player would have raised an issue because of the enormous respect each player has for Nadal.

The next person who wins the tournament 14 times with an overall record of 112-4, maybe in the year 2105, can also have the honor being seeded No. 1.

At the French Open, on the main court, in the center of the stands. stretching from one end of the court to the other, there is a phrase spelled out for everyone to see. It reads: “Victory Belongs to the Most Tenacious.”

That captures the essence of Nadal as the words “Most Tenacious” equal Rafael Nadal.

Ira Kaufman, an Altoona native and traveling sports fan, hosts IRA on Sports on trueoldiesfla.com on Monday night from 7-8 p.m. It is also available on Soundcloud & iTUNES, search Ira On Sports. His column appears occasionally in Voice of the Fan.