The infallible Nadal (Vamos)
Tennis is a young man’s game. Every player assumes their peak powers in late 20s and is on the decline till they enter the age of 32–33 years old. There will always be exceptions like Ken Rosewall and the GOAT Roger Federer, but it becomes very difficult to sustain in the present-day fitness-oriented tennis world. Now, you must be thinking that in the presently grim situation around the world with the Russia Ukraine war and tumbling stock markets, why am I suddenly talking about tennis?
Today was the French Open final and the Roland Garros trophy landed in the hands of Rafael Nadal for the 14th time making him a 22-time grand slam winner (the most in men’s history). At the age of 36, this may sound like a fairytale, but the present big 2 in tennis are aged 36 and showing no sign of toning down their aggressive game in front of the 20-year-olds. Since 2005, the big 3 (Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal) have won 61 out of 70 grand slams. This speaks volumes of the domination they have shown and continue to show. If we rewind back to 2018, Nadal’s peer Novak Djokovic was the undisputed king winning every tournament and grand slam. It seemed that he was well on course to beating Roger Federer’s record of 20 grand slam titles. Injury and poor form had left Rafael Nadal as king of clay and not a master of other courts. The arrival of new generation players like Danii Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas only indicated that the time had come for the king of clay to hang up his boots.
With Roger Federer absent from the grand slam circuit for over a year owing to injuries and Novak Djokovic also losing his peak form with a loss in US Open 2021, it seemed that time had come for the new big 3 to be announce in tennis after 17 long years. However, 2022 had other plans for the modern tennis era and Rafael Nadal. At present, Nadal is holding both the grand slams played this year. He is ruthlessly dismissing his oppositions across grand slams. In fact, his toughest match till date this year has been against Novak Djokovic (another 36-year-old). So, what makes Nadal be at the peak of his powers despite age and injury ridden body?
1. High Power + Gifted technique: If you view Rafael Nadal’s game, you will observe that he is still an extremely athletic player with the ability to cover the court in no time. On top of that, he is not the quintessential tennis player with a flowing forehand and backhand. He is loaded with a lot of muscle power which allows him to power back returns to even 100mph + serves from the young blokes in the circuit.
2. Focused rehabilitation: The phase from, 2009 to 2015 had Rafael Nadal troubled by knee injury and back injuries. His sacrifice to forego some grand slams to ensure proper rehabilitation has ensured that the injuries do not recur (a common theme for tennis players). This has allowed him to be at the top of his game even at 36.
3. Heavy Data reliance: Data is the new oil across all domains. It has become even more important in sports to analyse the opponents and build strategies. However, Rafael Nadal has taken it to another level where he has a very strong team of analysts, and he personally sits through the analysis of not only his opponents but also of all the other matches to pick up nuances that can help him finetune his game on an ongoing basis. This is allowing Nadal to keep pace with the upcoming stars like Medvedev on the circuit.
4. Grit: Irrespective of technique, data analysis and athleticism, the key aspect for a champion is the determination that they show in times of upheaval. By being determined to win every small moment in matches and not letting any player off the hook for even a single second, Rafael Nadal is showing what champions are made of.
As our tennis stars reach the end of their careers (something which we would have said 5 years ago as well), the likes of Nadal, Djokovic and Federer are still infallible. The world is still on the lookout for the next generation of tennis superstars who can match the feat that they have achieved in the last 17 years. Here’s hoping for a career slam for Rafael Nadal this year.
