Is Rafael Nadal Done? I hope not.

Things at Australian Open have gone berserk. Among all news, most horrifying was exit of Rafa Nadal in the very first round. I was hoping to witness, like all Roger and Rafa fans, the fall of Novak Djokovic and resurrection of Roger and Rafa. If Djokovic could revive himself after the fall which he hasn’t seen yet, then he truly would be a complete champion. But instead I saw something else. My bubble of hope to see Rafa’s revival got burst by revenge-seeker Fernando Verdasco. For Verdasco, this was the perfect place and the perfect time to avenge 2009 Australian Open semi-final defeat. Both matches were gruesome five-setters. As I started writing this, I got the news that Simona Halep lost too. That too makes me sad. But now it’s time to talk about Rafa.

This is not a post describing you what the reasons behind Rafa’s fall. This is a post telling people that Rafa Nadal who has outclassed Roger Federer several times might be gone. You might say Rafa is not done yet. I hope that becomes true.

Being in India, there was very limited opportunity to watch any top ten ATP or WTA player live in action. One such opportunity presented itself in last year’s IPTL and I wasn’t gonna miss it. I got to witness the dream clash- Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal. Roger had an upper hand in this match as he beat Rafa in their last encounter in Basel. Rafa was better than I have seen him in last one year as he beat Roger in tie breaker. Even being a Federer fan, watching Rafa win didn’t hurt much. It was this man who has pushed Federer and made a him a player that he is.

Sometimes we need to face obstacles to know that we are capable of achieving much more than we can fathom. This is what he did to Federer.

At that moment I saw a beacon of hope getting rekindled which suggested next year we might get to see him rise again and stop Djokovic from winning a Grand Slam, from slowly reaching the tally of 17. But sadly I don’t think he could outclass Djokovic now who is in the form of his life.

So what will happen to Rafa. Should he quit? Should he continue? If he should, is it time to replace he is much beloved coach and uncle Toni Nadal ? All these questions must be bothering every Rafa Fan. But I would hate to see him quit. Quitting shouldn’t be an option. Giving up is easy, rising up again is what makes a champion.

A player like him has all the money in the world. He is playing only for his love for tennis. Even though age and form might bother him , he cannot quit so soon!! The tennis community still wants to see his aggression, his high top-spin making opponents' head swirl. For a person who has won so many Grand Slams, success isn’t some final stop of his journey, it’s the journey itself. Journey to our goal is what we all should relish as the moment of our success is ephemeral. And we would like him to continue his journey, to keep playing the game he loves to play and we love to watch until the moment arrives when he himself feels it’s time to bid adieu. Till then., Vamos Rafa!!!

[Bonus] Relive the moment: The Greatest Tennis Match in History Highlights

P.S. I don’t hate Djokovic. I respect the player he is today.

Image Courtesy: DuckDuckGo and me!!!!!