Cachin Nadal shirt

Pedro Cachin may not have walked away the winner against Rafael Nadal at the Mutua Madrid Open, but you could never tell from his face afterward as the Argentine walked away from the match with the souvenir of a lifetime.

Ranked No. 91 in the world, Cachin was Nadal’s third round opponent on Monday in Madrid. While the Spaniard has been looking for consistency in his fitful farewell season, Cachin was looking to get out of a slump of his own having come into the tournament with a 0-10 record on the season. The 29-year-old went toe to toe with the 14-time Roland Garros champion for a tense three hours, but eventually fell 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

Read more: Rafael Nadal wins in Madrid, defeats Pedro Cachin to reach fourth round

That’s when Cachin worked up the nerve to ask one of his tennis idols for a memento of their epic match:

“Thank you very much! You've made my dream come true, thank you,” Cachin gushed as he shook hands with Nadal at the net. “I don't know if this is protocol or not, but I wanted to ask you, could I keep your shirt or a towel or something?”

Nadal easily agreed, and after celebrating with the Madrid crowd, he grabbed a fresh shirt from his kit bag and took it to Cachin: “Yes, of course! I'll give you one now. Good luck with everything.”

WATCH: Rafael Nadal obliges Pedro Cachin with match shirt from Mutua Madrid Open encounter

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With chants of “Rafa, Rafa” raining down from the stands on Court Manolo Santana, the pair shared a hug as they wished each other luck again.

“It’s beautiful,” Cachin shared on Instagram Stories later as he posted a photo of Nadal’s purple Nike shirt. “THANK YOU Rafa, it was a dream.”

After half a season of starting and stopping, Nadal seems to have finally hit his stride in Madrid where he's found some of the best tennis of his farewell so far. He's thrilled the home crowd with wins over American youngster Darwin Blanch, world No. 11 Alex de Minaur and last year’s Gstaad champion Cachin to move into the fourth round.

The 37-year-old will face another big test in the form of No. 30 seed Jiri Lehecka next, but it won’t just be the Czech’s big hitting that will present the Spaniard with a challenge. It’s only the second time all year that Nadal has played three matches at the same tournament, and the first time he’s won three in a row.

“I need to find a way to be able to play days in a row and still be competitive,” Nadal told press after the match. “I don't know if I am in that moment yet. Let's see what can happen tomorrow. But I'm gonna try. I'm gonna do things the right way to try to be ready for tomorrow.

“So I cannot (be concerned) at all. Just happy to be on court again tomorrow hopefully and hope to be ready.”