SPANISH tennis star Rafa Nadal has shown his human side in public once again – during the US Open, he heard a child crying and went to his rescue.
The world number two was leaving court after training and found a sizeable group of fans seeking his autograph and photos.
Within the crowd, he heard a child crying and, on investigation, saw a little boy trapped among the tightly-packed mass of people.
Nadal ran forward, asking everyone to move aside, and scooped up the child, carrying him above his head.
The little boy was gasping and sobbing, but Rafa stayed with him for a few moments, hugging him and stroking his hair and talking to him until he had calmed down.
Next, the Mallorca-born player signed the boy's baseball cap and asked the organisers to seek out his parents.
They had become separated from him and came forward to collect him.
Rafa's gesture was filmed by the US Open management, who uploaded a screen shot of the moment on Twitter (above, on @usopen).
This is not the first time Rafael Nadal has dropped everything to help the public – during the serious flash floods near his native town of Manacor last October, he was photographed bailing out buildings and streets and mopping up, and opened up his eponymous sports academy so beds could be set up for evacuated residents.
Nadal, 33, is due to marry his girlfriend of 14 years on October 19 in their birth town of Manacor, in a venue that will be hermetically-sealed against the paparazzi.
Meri Perelló, 30, is the only girlfriend Rafa has ever had, and they have been going out with each other since they were teenagers.
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