When Giants Fall — The Heartache of Watching your Childhood Heroes Struggle
Some moments in life, no matter how inevitable they seem, you can never be ready for.
Throughout my life, I have had 4 heroes.
3 are sporting icons, and the other, is more personal.
1 stands miles clear of the rest.
Boasting 22 Grand Slam Singles Titles, 14 at a place he has made his home (Roland Garros), and with Olympic Gold Medals in Singles and Doubles, this hero has become one of the most successful athletes of all time. This success, paired with his famous relationship with fellow tennis great Roger Federer has made him one of the most loved athletes of the 21st Century.
His name is Rafael Nadal.
Why Rafa?
The Early Love Affair
Growing up in Australia, with a South African background, I was destined to grow up in and around sports. And to this day, it continues to consume every facet of my life.
Primary school days were spent playing soccer with mates.
Weekends kicking the footy with dad.
Holidays playing backyard cricket anywhere.
Not even nighttime could stop the sporting extravaganza.
I spent it watching any sport I could find on the telly. AFL, tennis, cricket, soccer, you name it. I consumed it all. Yet 2 events stood above all else in the annual sporting calendar.
The AFL Grand Final, and the Australian Open.
For many of my readers, the AFL, let alone the Grand Final is a foreign concept. It is a professional sport endemic to Australia. A sport with no equivalent. But the Australian Open, the first of the 4 majors, should definitely ring a bell.
Contested every Aussie Summer in Australia’s sporting capital — Melbourne, the tournament sees the world’s top tennis players battle it out for Grand Slam honours.
128 players enter the main draw. 1 emerges victorious.
Until last Summer, Nadal had only won it once.
2009. A 5 set, 4-hour thriller. As a chubby-faced 4-year-old, I was too young to remember it. But like most games featuring Rafa and Roger, it was a classic.
Despite his lack of Australian success (at least equivalent to his other Grand Slam efforts), in part due to persistent injury, and Djokovic or Federer always standing in his way, somehow, I still loved him.
What stood out to me was that Rafa always brought the same enthusiasm, energy, and intensity. This was clear to me as a kid.
Free from the exuberant shirtless celebrations of Novak, and the overwhelming fanfare surrounding Federer, Rafa was ever gracious in victory or defeat. And to be fair, so were the rest of the Big 3.
But Nadal was the epitome of everything I wanted to be.
Successful. Not the most naturally talented. But hard-working. Bloody hard-working.
He always fought to the bitter end.
Losing, then Re-Capturing my Love of the Game
When High School came around, I was at a crossroads in my relationship with tennis.
Basketball began to creep into my life. AFL became more and more serious. And tennis fell out of favour.
Yet despite my increased disconnection from tennis, the old favourites — the Aussie Open and Rafa remained deeply engrained in the sports viewing fold.
I witnessed Rafa return from a 3-year Grand Slam Final hiatus to make the 2017 Australian Open Final. He lost. But it was a sign that despite 3 years of injury carnage, Rafa had what it took to win more titles.
And he did just that, winning 3 majors before my love affair with tennis resumed.
After a thrashing at the hands of Djokovic in another Aus Open Final in 2019, followed by 2 more Grand Slam triumphs, I fulfilled a childhood dream in early 2020.
With the newly created ATP Cup launching across Australia, and Spain scheduled to take on Uruguay in a fascinating match-up with Pablo Cuevas in my hometown, I finally had the opportunity to watch my hero live.
Rafa breezed to a 6–2 6–1 straight sets victory in a match that lasted a little over an hour. It was short. But enough.
Long enough to see his superstitious pre-match water bottle placing. His customary pre-serve habit. And his famous forehand swing. It was an awe-inspiring experience.
Whilst Rafa failed to convert that ATP Cup dominance into a deep Australian Open run, I marveled at Rafa’s record-tying 2020 French Open triumph over Djokovic. It is still the most complete Rafa performance I have seen.
And after another year of injury carnage, and a Covid-interrupted end to the 2022 season, I witnessed Rafa create history in true Rafa fashion, overcoming a 2-set-love deficit to record a historic 21st Grand Slam Title.
This triumph sparked a 20–0 start to the 2022 season. A career-best start at age 35. Rafa even won a record-extending 22nd Grand Slam title at Roland Garros.
The man was on fire…
…until he wasn’t.
Now
Since that French Open victory in June, Nadal’s future prospects have taken a turn for the worse. After a deep run to the Wimbledon Semi Finals (ended by an abdominal injury), Nadal has struggled to recapture his blistering best form.
Bowing out prematurely in the Round of 16 of the US Open, and with just 1 win from 3 matches at the ATP Finals (the only piece of silverware missing from Nadal’s trophy cabinet), he boasts just 4 wins from his past 11 matches.
Winless to begin 2023 after losses to Brit Cameron Norrie and Aussie Alex De Minaur, his performance at the upcoming Australian Open could determine his sporting future.
The Final Frontier
Whilst you can never rule Rafa out, there’s only so many times one can come back from the dead.
Consistently plagued by injury throughout his career, yet always managing to return to his blistering best, age may finally have caught up with him.
And for a man that undoubtedly plays the most physically demanding style of tennis the game has ever seen, this spells trouble.
Whilst Rafa has typically struggled in the early stages of the tennis season, (characterized by less-than-ideal match prep after end-of-season surgery) never before has Rafa suffered a 0–2 start to the season.
Paired with the birth of his first child in early October and Nadal’s family-first approach, many believe the end is in sight.
With the Australian Open returning in just 11 days, the man from Mallorca won’t have much time to turn things around.
But as the current World Number 2 (trailing only compatriot Carlos Alcaraz), he will be aided by a favourable draw in his quest to recapture his form and the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
Whilst it is too early to call how Rafa will fair, and amidst the uncertainty surrounding his form and fitness, one thing is certain. Rafael Nadal, the left-handed Spaniard will not go down without a fight.
With the man in the middle of a form crisis, and in the hope of inspiring an Aussie Open resurgence, I want to say…
THANK YOU!
Thank you for…
Never giving up. The way you chase down every ball is like nothing else. You’ve taught me that it’s not over, till it’s over.
Showing me that anything is possible. You’ve proven that anybody can come back from anything, time and time again. Surely not again?
The Entertainment. Watching you take on Novak and Federer has provided me with some of the most memorable moments of my life. Could 2023 hold more blockbuster match-ups in store?
My job. My adoration of tennis is because of you. Without your presence on the tennis court, I could never imagine becoming a tennis coach.
Being you. There will never be another Rafael Nadal. Alcaraz is special, but he will never be you.
The 2023 Australian Open will mark the first time that I will be in attendance at a Grand Slam. Fulfilling another childhood dream, only time will tell if my first appearance in Melbourne will be Rafa’s last.
Despite all the media uncertainty and speculation, something tells me it won’t.
It just can’t be.
