King of clay Nadal gets a fond Roland Garros farewell

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The cheers reached a crescendo as the announcer started reading material a lean. A lean of the 14 years in which Rafael Nadal won the daniel chester french Open. At the end of it stepped out onto Court Philippe Chatrier the man who has dominated a single tournament like no other athlete across sport.

Almost everyone in the stands was dressed for the occasion – in identical brick-red t-shirts that had the words “Merci Rafa” printed on it. Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning champion wore it proudly. And later, Nadal’s greatest rivals Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray stepped on court to pay tribute.

Nadal, in tears, soon started to speak French in a thick Spanish accent. Just like their language, he had put a unique Spanish spin on their beloved Roland Garros.

The 38-year-old winner of 22 Grand Slams has won almost everything the sport has to offer. But it was at the French Open in 2005, when he was 19, that he first made a mark. It is where he won the title a record 14 times. It is where his presence was honoured with an imprint of his footmark becoming a permanent fixture in one of the most famous sporting arenas in the world.

Nadal talked about watching the competition from the stands in 2004 while on crutches, dreaming of “coming back to compete”.

And come back he did, to not as much as compete but dominate. Nadal holds a blinding 112-4 record at Roland Garros, and never lost a final.

But long before he became the man who ruled the tennis world, he was the boy from Manacor looking – rather – expected to make it big in Paris. Roland Garros never saw Nadal trying to find his feet. The red dirt, instead, moved to his will.

The tennis world had long seen prodigies make a name for themselves on the grand stages of the sport. But Nadal was something else. He was 19, and already the world No.5 when he played the French Open for the first time in 2005.

He was a sight to behold.

A long mane of hair was held together by a carefully tied bandana. He wore a sleeveless top that accentuated the bulging biceps. The capri shorts were unheard of.

And then came the quirks – no walking on the lines, lining up the bottles in a specific way, the tugging of the shorts before every point, the metronomic grunt with every shot, the roar of Vamos with every point won, all the way to the title on his French Open debut.

It didn’t take long for Nadal to acquire an air of invincibility – especially on clay.

There were times when he would win the match even before he stepped on court. There was the incident just before the 2022 French Open final when Casper Ruud, the current world No.7, looked to have been pushed on the backfoot as he watched Nadal stretch, sprint, and practice a few swings with his racquet while both players were in the waiting area.

And if he couldn’t intimidate you off court, he would get you with his work on it.

Nadal was a grinder who refused to give up in rallies. A seeming winner from an opponent would be sent back by the Spaniard with vicious topspin.

Nadal’s groundstrokes would often range between an astonishing 3200 rpm to a colossal 4000. On a clay court, where the ball bounces higher, the topspin Nadal generated would give the ball an extra kick.

Later in his career, Nadal added another dimension to his game. He still held on to the tendency of staying far behind the baseline. But as he grew older and looked to close points quickly, he started to come up to the net more frequently.

While he played and tormented his opponents, his body bore the brunt of his heavy work rate. But the intensity and hunger never diminished whenever he stepped on court.

A player who never gave in, even on his final moments as a player at the French Open last year, he refused to say it was the end.

And now, 20 years after he first played at Roland Garros, he is back, albeit for a different reason. To receive the “farewell from the most important court of (his) career”.

The “King of Clay” may not be playing anymore, but here he was once again, on Court Philippe Chatrier, reliving the memories of all his conquests. And with that solitary message from everyone present.

Merci Rafa.

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