In the early hours of Wednesday, another of the “Big Three” of tennis, including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, ended his career. The 38-year-old Matador from Manacor, Nadal, will take a well-deserved break after more than 20 years on Tour, and his farewell to the sport he loves came on home soil in Malaga, where the Davis Cup Finals are taking place this week.
Spain failed to send Rafa off with a trophy after losing 1-2 to the Netherlands. Nadal took to the court for his singles match against Botic van de Zandschulp and fell 4-6, 4-6. Carlos Alcaraz’s victory over Tallon Griekspoor gave Nadal and Spain hope, but a dramatic doubles victory after two tiebreaks sent the Dutch into the semi-finals. However, this failure cannot in any way tarnish the remarkable career of Nadal, who has left his lasting mark not only with his dominance on clay courts, but also with his behavior on and off the court.
Rafa's achievements on the court are incredible not only from a purely statistical point of view, but also against the background of injury problems over the years. Nadal grabbed the first of his 22 Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros - having just turned 18, the Matador won the French Open trophy on his debut. He himself could hardly have expected that he would rejoice with the title of the second Slam tournament of the year 13 more times, becoming an absolute dominant and record holder for titles in a single Grand Slam competition. Nadal has a 63-9 record in clay court finals – his dominance is clearly evident in four tournaments – Roland Garros (14), Barcelona (12), Monte Carlo (11) and Rome (10). The Spaniard’s last triumph in Paris came in 2022. Then, at the age of 36, Rafa gave up just six games to Norway’s Kasper Ruud.
No one should underestimate Nadal’s achievements on other surfaces. He is a two-time Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, as well as a four-time US Open winner. In the end, the Spaniard finished with 22 titles – two more than Federer, and two more than Djokovic, who continues his active career. Who knows if, with fewer injuries, Nadal would not have retired as the leader in this eternal ranking? It is difficult to say, because the “ifs” in tennis are many and everything is a matter of hypotheses. However, statistics never lie – a total of 92 titles for the Matador, 36 of which were Masters 1000 titles, five Davis Cup triumphs with Spain and two Olympic titles – in singles in 2008 in Beijing and in doubles six years later in Rio.
Despite his health problems and the fact that even Nadal probably won’t deny that he felt pain in every part of his body, the Spaniard was an example of great spirit and uncompromisingness on the court. More than once he was part of long and exhausting matches – I remember one between him and Fernando Verdasco in Melbourne in 2009. No one will forget the memorable match between Nadal and Djokovic again in Australia three years later, when the two asked for chairs after the final between them during the awards ceremony. There was also a five-set thriller between the Matador and the Joker at Roland Garros 2013, when the Spaniard rejoiced after a hard battle. There are many examples in this regard, and regardless of whether he left the court with a win or a loss, Nadal's credo remained - fight to the end and no room for retreat, regardless of who is against you on the other side of the net and what the stakes are.
Nadal said that he wants to be remembered above all as a good person. And in reality, despite his enormous achievements in an individual sport like tennis, the 38-year-old Spaniard has always demonstrated good behavior and has helped his colleagues, has an academy for the development of tennis players, and has also participated in numerous charitable initiatives - all examples that Nadal is one of the most popular and successful athletes of all time, but above all a good person.
I have many memories of his matches, and the battles with Federer and Djokovic during the era of the "Big Three" are documented in archives and probably part of future film productions. This "Big Three" in question is left with one less - in fact, only one in the person of Djokovic continues to hold the front, but the end is approaching for him too, as the former number 1 from Serbia is 37 years old. Now, however, the focus is on Nadal. Completely deservedly. A Spaniard who, with his fighting spirit, conquered many hearts and captivated many eyes. However, the time has come for him to take a well-deserved break. And all this, after dominating on clay and leaving his mark on tennis. | BGNES
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Stefan Ignatov, editor in the Sports Department of BGNES
