Rafael Nadal, the indisputable King of France

Rafael Nadal after winning the 2014 French Open

While the Spanish king relinquished his throne to make way for his son, another Spanish son has staked his claim to the throne of France. After winning his ninth title at Roland Garros in 10 years, he could now be rightfully called the undisputable king. It’s very easy in all this euphoria to be drawn into another long, unabated conversation about the greatest player of all time, but it’s more prudent to discuss that topic after some of these remarkable careers (that are being played out in modern tennis) come to a close.

What we must focus on instead is the genius of this remarkable athlete from Mallorca. Rafael Nadal has won many hearts over the years with stupendous performances, giving us some of the greatest matches in tennis history.

The Wimbledon final of 2008 against Federer was the Everest of his career, a challenge so tough, it was unthinkable a few years before. To compete in a tournament that was Federer’s favourite, on a surface that didn’t suit Nadal’s game, in front of a crowd that worshipped his opponent, and playing what was turning out to be an emotional and physical roller coaster, Nadal had all the odds and more stacked against him. By the end of that match I realized that no one told him any of that, and even if they did, he didn’t care. The moment was his, and with it, the end of Federer’s reign had begun.

The Australian Open final of 2012 which he lost to Djokovic is rated by many as the greatest final ever played, and even though he finished second that day, Nadal had outdone himself, generating terrific amount of support over the world through his effort. Sometimes a true champion can be distinguished by his demeanor in defeat and Nadal certainly proved to be a champion among champions.

These two matches, while far from being the only great matches he’s played, are enough to show some of his most amazing qualities. He’s relentless; he’s always at you, picking up impossible balls, putting them back in great positions. He has the heart of a lion, roaring at important points to rally all his strength behind the next surge. He’ll never give up, wearing his opponent down before he raises his game just enough at the end to finish off the job. But among all these personality traits one can forget that he’s also improved his game greatly from when he started; he’s got a killer forehand, a very decent serve now, and has also become pretty deft at the net. But it’s usually his non-technical strengths that become talking points after a victory.

The loss in this final will be a very bitter pill to swallow for Djokovic; each loss adds greater pressure and removes a certain amount of self-belief that he can eventually get to the summit. But his graciousness in defeat, his expressions after the match and his comments after the game show that he too is truly a champion. And he must not lose heart. For an example, he has only to look to the player on the other side of the net.

When Nadal started, it was impossible to dream of beating Federer, and look how that turned out.

The undisputed king of the French clay may well stake his claim on that world title (of greatest ever) by winning a few more Grand Slams, especially on other surfaces. But for now, let’s celebrate this wonder boy, and his ascent to the top of the game.