Happy birthday, Rafael Nadal

This man’s name is Rafael Nadal. He has changed the perception of the world ‘athlete’ and redefined what it means to fight out a match. There have been times, while watching a match where he plays the leading role, when you see the ball go out of the screen for a good two seconds, just to see it being whacked for a winner from an obscenely far corner of the court. It is imperative to understand while playing Nadal that approaching the net for a volley is a laughably stupid thing to do, as any ball falling short on his side will be clipped, curved, banana’d or lobbed for a winner. It’s even more stupid to think of challenging him in a baseline duel, as out-rallying Nadal makes approaching the net seem easy as pie in comparison. How does one beat him then? The answer is simple – take the racquet and with all the top-spin you can muster, hit him on his head. Remember though, that although his Goliath biceps and imposing physique might render this choice of attack futile, his greatest strength lies within his head, from where the ‘giving up’ button has been removed.

All of this without a hint of court abuse, temper tantrums and cat-calling screams. Off court, the humility that one sees stitched in his demeanour makes the champion even more of an enigma. What kind of person would, after winning the French Open four times, actually take his father’s permission for buying a sports car, and agree to buy it only after winning Wimbledon?

Superlatives run out while talking about legends of the sport. Eventually, writers realise they don’t matter. Our quest to find words to describe people that inspire us is cut short by the realisation that even as we think, our protagonist would be practising on a French court somewhere, trying to better the record we mentioned a few hundred words back.

While Rafael may not possess the natural flair and panache of players like Gasquet, Federer or McEnroe, he stands as a testament to the fact that champions can be trained, if they aren’t born in a package. He stands as physical evidence that while not everyone can become a great sportsman, a great sportsman can come from anywhere.

Happy birthday Rafa. May the sight of your buggy forehand entertain sports enthusiasts as long as your knees allow you. We extend our very best wishes for your attempt to collect your eighth piece of silverware at Roland Garros.