We’re only through the first 24 hours, maybe a little more, of Rafael Nadal’s retirement announcement aftereffect but the way it’s been sinking in has the air of an eternity. It’s fitting though — a man with a stature that big won’t leave without causing tsunamis of sentiments.
Nadal’s words were free of ambiguity. He accepted what came into view shortly after the turn of the 21st century must cease before the Silver Jubilee. Thus, he said it like it is, with his left eyebrow in line with the right, conveying an emotion of solace beyond anguish that only he could fathom.
“I’m here to let you know that I am retiring from professional tennis. The reality is that it has been some difficult years, especially the last two. I don’t think I have been able to play without difficulties.
“In this life, everything has a beginning and an end… But I am very excited that my last tournament will be the final of the Davis Cup and representing my country,” the big man conveyed through a video message on October 10, 2024.
But what exactly makes the Spaniard big? Is it his silverware? Is it the number of forehand winners he ends up smashing? Or is it his biceps?
None of this attributes to his prestige categorically but the moments he raised those trophies in his arms in front of us, the moments he made us drop our jaws with mesmerizing shots shooting from his left side, and the moments those guns were out punching the air in jubilation.
Nadal could have lifted 22 Grand Slam trophies, crunched 1,000 winners, and celebrated it all in a Mallorca courtyard and we wouldn’t have a clue. But the fact that he let us in on all those moments made him big for us.
Such moments are aplenty if we turn every page after 2001, however, let’s brace ourselves with just six of them for, the time being.
#6 Wimbledon Final 2008 — Nadal vs Federer
Nothing defined tennis in the mid-2000s more than Rafael Nadal’s battle royal with Roger Federer. The courts couldn’t have produced more contrasting players holding a racket — Left vs Right, Brute vs Style, Spin vs Skid.
Overall, he was more successful, stepping onto Centre Court for the 2008 Wimbledon championship alongside Federer, holding an 11-6 lead in the head-to-head. But the Swiss was undefeated in the last five grass-court Major finals, including two against the Spaniard.
However, Nadal did the unthinkable by defeating Federer 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7 after toiling on the grass for four hours and 48 minutes to claim his first Wimbledon crown. At the time, the match was featured at the top of the longest Championships finals list and to this day, it is considered to be among the greatest matches in tennis history.
#5 Australian Open Final 2012: Nadal vs Djokovic
We all hate long speeches, don’t we? Morning assembly addresses from the principal during our school days have to be one of the most taxing minutes we endured. A chief guest’s words during a school sports day were more agonizing.
But we hardly witnessed, say our schoolmates who secured medals in a 400-meter sprint, sitting on a chair during the felicitation ceremony. They stood there on the stage, waiting for their turn to hold their hard-earned trophies.
As a matter of fact, this doesn’t happen in any sport, be it an individual or a team win. However, it did happen following the 2012 Australian Open men’s singles final, which saw Rafael Nadal take on Novak Djokovic, who had disrupted men’s tennis by then.
The two players sweated to the bone for five hours and 53 minutes with Djokovic eventually prevailing 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 in what remains the longest Grand Slam final to date.
Nadal and Djokovic could no longer stand on their legs during the presentation ceremony after the grueling five-setter, once reaching for their knees in sync in a rather exclusive moment. They were eventually offered chairs while the speakers kept on the mic.
#4 Australian Open Final 2022: Nadal vs Medvedev
Rafael Nadal, about to turn 36 in 2022, produced a humongous effort against 25-year-old Daniil Medvedev from Russia in another memorable final at the Australian Open.
He recovered from a two-set deficit, surviving 16 break points, 23 aces, and 76 winners Medvedev produced from his racket to win the championship match 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 after five hours and 24 minutes.
The victory meant the Spaniard overtook Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the all-time Grand Slam winners’ tally to become the first man with 21 Major trophies to his name, giving us another chance to cheer.
#3 Nadal wins 14th French Open title
The Spaniard’s love affair with the French Open began in the year 2005 when he triumphed there for the first time by overcoming Argentina’s Mariano Puerto 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 7-5 in the final.
Before 2022, he won the coveted trophy 12 more times, bettering his arch-rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on occasions.
In June 2022, the Spaniard stood on the Roland Garros podium for a record 14th time, after having thrashed Casper Ruud, a rising young star from Norway then, in the title clash 6-3, 6-3, 6-0.
#2 Nadal cries during Federer’s farewell
Rafael Nadal’s rivalry with Roger Federer culminated in a tear-filled farewell to the Swiss at the 2022 Laver Cup.
He accompanied the 20-time Grand Slam champion for the last dance on the ATP Tour, a doubles outing representing Team Europe. They lost the battle to Team World’s Jack Sock and Frances Tiafoe.
It didn’t conclude like the perfect fairytale but it wasn’t anything less for us tennis fans to watch the two stalwarts holding hands with tears rolling down their cheeks, signaling the end of an era.
#1 Nadal takes the court with Alcaraz at the Olympics
Carlos Alcaraz arrived on the storied stages of tennis to give us a reason to continue adoring the racket sport as our beloved legends, Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic, began to fade away.
Nadal and Alcaraz, however, fueled our passion for tennis in orgasmic proportions by pairing up for national duty at the recently concluded Paris Olympics in an amalgamation of two generations.
The duo contended for medals in the men’s doubles category at the Games held at Roland Garros and graced the claycourt together thrice. They started by taking out the Argentinian pair of Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the first round and followed it with a win against Tallon Griekspoor / Wesley Koolhof from the Netherlands in the second.
Nadal and Alcaraz faltered against eventual silver medalists Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram in the quarterfinals.
