Ben Stiller and Rafa Nadal’s Manhattan dinner

Rafael Nadal’s debut at the US Open is just around the corner, and for this reason he has taken advantage of the days before the first match to enjoy a dinner with another lover of the sport, actor and film director Ben Stiller.

Where did Nadal and Stiller eat in New York?

Both have a great relationship and this was demonstrated by their most recent meet-up at Piccola Cucina Uptown, an Italian restaurant in Manhattan, where members of their team have also been, including Marc López, Rafael Maymó and Carlos Costa, among others.

‘Fun dinner with my team and friends!’ Nadal wrote on beside a photo of the group. ‘And… all good before the tournament starts’, he added.

The Hollywood actor actually got himself involved in a previous match of Nadal’s, one against Nick Kyrgios with the Australian commenting during it: “Why are you talking? “I’ll tell you how you have to act?” a comment that caused laughter from the crowd.

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Nadal and Stiller: a 10-year relationship

Stiller has confessed on several occasions that he is a big fan of the Spanish tennis player and that their relationship began thanks to a call from Nadal asking him to participate in an exhibition match with Juan Martín del Potro a decade ago.

It’s also worth noting the encouragement he gave the star from Mallorca during the Wimbledon quarter-final match against his American compatriot, Taylor Fritz, where he triumphed in the fifth set after trailing.

“Vamos Rafa”, read the post, one that didn’t go down well with a number of US followers.

“It doesn’t make sense for this guy to go with Nadal ahead of a tennis player from his own country,” a nobody said. “Support your compatriot and don’t jump on the bandwagon,” another person with no understanding of the situation wrote.

We’re pretty sure that neither Ben nor Rafa care much about them.