“He’s one of my idols” – Iconic sportsman hails Tiger Woods

The famous Tiger Woods fist-pump was out in full force again overnight – but, this time, it was to celebrate somebody else’s heroics.

Woods, along with his girlfriend Erica Herman and his two children, were in the audience as tennis great Rafa Nadal beat Marin Cilic in four sets to advance to the US Open quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.

The 15-time major champ, currently recovering following knee surgery last month, cheered on the 18-time Grand Slam winner.

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Wearing a baseball cap emblazoned with the logo of his beloved NFL team, the Oakland Raiders, Woods was even compelled to jump out of his seat as Nadal produced a sensational winner with the penultimate shot of the match.

In an on-court interview afterwards, Spanish ace Nadal was asked what it was like to have Woods cheering him on.

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“For me, it’s a huge honour playing in front of all of you of course,” Nadal told the crowd. “But playing in front of Tiger for me is a very special thing.

“I always said I never had big idols, but if I had to say one, one idol is him. I always tried to follow him every single shot that he hit during the whole year.

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“For me, it’s a big pleasure to have him here supporting. It means a lot. He’s a big legend of the sport, one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. I just want to congratulate him for one of the most amazing comebacks in sport, winning the Masters this year.”

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Woods later took to Twitter to congratulate Nadal on his victory.