Beautiful Savage.
He won the Italian Open and French Open so many times that he learned their languages for interviews.
It is very different playing on grass, hardcourts, and clay. The pace is different, accentuating different needed skills for each event. It is natural for players to be better at one than another, and it is an oddity when a player can win on all of them regularly. Rafael Nadal not only specialized on clay (10 Italian Open wins and 14 French Open wins), but crossed over on the biggest stage to win on grass (two Wimbledon titles). He owned his specialty along with being great on other surfaces also. Amazing career.
Nadal announced that he will retire after he finishes 2024. Being at a high level at 38 years old in tennis is unique enough, and knowing when to exit stage left is hard for any athlete in any sport. This is a perfect time for him to ride into the sunset. When your mobility is a key part of your game, and you lose a step, you become very beatable very quickly. Remember when Allen Iverson lost a step? He suddenly became a very tiny basketball player that couldn’t go for 20 let alone 30 in a game. Nadal was a human backboard (with a lot of topspin), and his prime was unmatched.
The numbers are staggering. He was 112-4 at the French Open. Unless he was injured or not playing, you weren’t beating him. He won 81 straight clay matches at one point. He won 82% of lifetime matches. He won as much as he did and lost most of 2011 and 2012 to injury. The left-hander specialized in returns and breaks, and always was a tour leader.
The amount of boxes he checks is staggering.
Was he ever #1? Yes. 209 weeks.
Did he play in the best match of all time? Arguably, yes. 2008 Wimbledon vs. Federer. Nadal stopped Federer’s record of 65 straight on grass that year.
Did he ever win the French Open without dropping a set? Yes. 2008.
Did he win a clay Slam and grass Slam in the same year? Yes.
Did he love his country and win the Olympics? Yes. He was even the flag bearer in 2016.
Did he win the Davis Cup? Yes. Four times.
Did he win the other Slams? At least twice for each of the four.
Did he play doubles? Yes. Eleven titles. And, he was a semifinalist once at a Slam (US Open).
Was he a good sport on the court? He won the sportsmanship award five times. Not only did he beat you down, but he was the most polite and humble dude in doing so.
Did he do anything outside of tennis? Yes. He was voted as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.
Was he good as a teenager? He won 16 titles before the age of 20. He won 24 straight clay court matches during his teens.
Does he have kids? Yes, and he even waited to have kids until late in his career so he could allocate more time to their upbringing.
Let’s also keep in mind that his dominance occurred during the reign of two of the OTHER greatest tennis players ever. Heavy competition. It reminds me of the 70’s and 80’s when Connors, McEnroe, and Borg were beating each other up.
He retires being the best athlete ever from Spain. Is Nadal the GOAT? I would say no, but he is obviously the best clay court player ever. And he stays in the conversation for best ever regardless.
Nadal was in a Shakira video. He has an asteroid named after him. He is involved in nonprofit work. He was the Kia spokesperson. He loves golf and poker and endorses Poker Stars. He loves fishing, and that patience needed makes you understand his patience in the slower, and more exhausting clay court game. He is human through and through. His fears are things such as the dark, thunderstorms, dogs, and bicycles. He plays video games to avoid run-ins with any of his fears.
We were almost robbed of his tennis career if it wasn’t for Uncle Toni. THANK you, Uncle Toni, for teaching him tennis after pulling him from his futbol path. Watching Nadal play a match was a mixture of a bunch of worlds. His style of play was beautiful and yet grueling. Some of his gets and winners looked effortless, and it almost looked so easy that it robbed the viewer of how tough it actually was. He didn’t win with a monster serve, yet defended his serve like he had one. His adjustments during a match frustrated opponents to no end. When they thought they had figured him out, he adjusted. He was never the biggest, strongest, nor fastest. But, he toyed with his opponents like he was writing the script. There is a person on LinkedIn named Justin Jay Johnson (Legend Sales Person) who coined the term Beautiful Savage. I would say that describes Rafael Nadal on the court. Beautiful Savage. Gorgeous Destruction. Charming Havoc. You pick your description.
He exits stage left, but hopefully he stays close to the game. We need him close to the game, but he will probably focus on family next. The game became better because of him. Now, he will have more free time. He probably will have to learn a sixth and seventh language in whatever arena he feels the need to dominate next in his older years. THANK you, Mr. Nadal. We will miss you.
