CHENNAI: It was the 2013 French Open semi-final. A year after Rafael Nadal had to withdraw from the 2012 London Olympics due to a recurring knee injury. He had not played any competitions since going down against Lukas Rosol, world No. 100, in the second round. There was a little hope that he would make a comeback in the Australian Open but he had to miss the event with a stomach virus. So when he entered the season at the Chile Open in early February, it felt like he was way off the standards he had set for himself in the past.
After a few titles in some of the tune-up events, the master of clay returned to Paris for the French Open with an air of familiarity and unknown. Familiarity because well, Nadal was back at Roland Garros, his adoptive home. However, given how long it had been between the Slams for him, it felt different. Could he win on his home turf again? It took him four sets to get out of the first round, but from then on it was smooth sailing till the semi-final.
When he walked out for the clash against Novak Djokovic, the conditions in Paris were especially hot. As if it was the weather's way of foreshadowing what was coming. With his left knee strapped, Nadal drew the first blood as he took the first set. Djokovic was not the one to stand still and take it in. The penultimate point before he took the second set showed how much he was willing to wait to make his point. With the mercury increasing in Paris, the duel was heating up. Nadal took the third, and Djokovic followed it by taking the fourth. Till then, it had been a competition between two individuals who respected each other's game but still did not hesitate to one-up each other.
In the final set, Nadal was playing catch-up most of the time. One tiny mistake from the Serb, where he touched the net before the ball was called dead, gave the Spaniard the opportunity to level. That was the time when the world witnessed 'peak Rafa'. A sensational forehand after four hours of play, a beautiful net play to outsmart a tired Djokovic and running like a 15-year-old boy to counterattack followed. And after close to five hours with a sensational crowd behind him, French Open's favourite son was off to another final.
That is what Nadal, the player, was. Paris, known for its delicate art, revolutionary political thoughts and remarkable delicacies, became his own backyard for a few days in the middle of the year. Roland Garros had once said, "Victory belongs to the most tenacious." The quote is engraved on the Philippe Chatrier court, the picturesque venue that has witnessed all of Nadal's 14 titles on clay. Those are the best ones to describe him not just in Paris but in general. Such was his character on the field that he was not going to let go of things easily.
He was a fighter. A philosopher-fighter at that who was happy with what he got. He was often asked about not having the most number of Grand Slams and from his answers one could tell that did not bother him at all. He has always maintained that someone was always going to have a bigger house than his. You can't keep being miserable over that. Be happy with the house you've built. But that never meant being complacent or giving up. He was happy because he knew he had given it his all. He was at peace because he knew he had given it everything he had in him. So now he doesn't have to look back and say if only 'I had tried harder'. Cause there's nothing more he could have done. That is why he has always been satisfied with the result.
A few years ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, a Broadway musical, based on the life and times of America's first Secretary of the Treasury, made waves across the world. In the middle of Act 2, there is a scene where President George Washington pours his heart in front of Alexander Hamilton about taking retirement from the public eye and not running for office for the second time.
Like the scripture says:
“Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree
And no one shall make them afraid.”
They’ll be safe in the nation we’ve made
I wanna sit under my own vine and fig tree
A moment alone in the shade
At home in this nation, we’ve made.
Rafael Nadal Parera was not the first Spanish player to pick the tennis racquet and hit the ball across the court. He certainly won't be the last one. Now, he is getting the chance to sit under his own vine and fig tree and reflect. All throughout his career, he was content with what he was able to achieve.
At the Davis Cup in Malaga, for one last time, he waved at his home crowd with tears in his eyes. With his friends, family and fellow countrymen around him, the final act was done. With a legacy to last a lifetime, Rafa Nadal is now going home.