New Delhi: Rafael Nadal smiled throughout the 40-minute show at Delhi’s glitzy Sheraton Hotel, balancing a life of tennis and celebrity endorsements.

Someone screamed from the crowd: "I love you very much, Rafael." It was a man, not a woman. The fan had a cordless mike he had acquired, posing as a journalist, from the organisers. He screamed again: "I have my wife’s permission to say this to you. I love your game." This, to Nadal, made sense.