At the other end of the court was a brash 17-year-old Spanish kid. He had shoulder length hair and baggy red shorts that looked a size too big. The Spanish kid was hitting winners all over the court, swinging his racquet like a pirate wielding a sword.
That was the first time I set eyes on Rafael Nadal. And it was love at first sight. He was flamboyant. He was charismatic. After years of men’s tennis being dominated by automaton big-serving bores, Rafael Nadal was a breath of fresh air.
I rushed home after a half-hearted workout on the treadmill to catch the end of the match. In his Australian Open debut, Rafa took Hewitt (who I was never a fan of) to two tie-breaks before eventually bowing out in hard fought straight sets. He won hearts and sent a clear message that he would soon be a star of the game. And I had a new favourite.
That new star rose quickly. Just over a year later Rafael Nadal claimed the first of 10 (so far) French Open titles in 2005, installing himself firmly as the king of Stade Roland Garros. Add to that grand slam titles in Australia, the US Open and Wimbledon (he is one of only seven men to have won all four grand slam titles in their career), Olympic gold medals and countless tour titles, Rafael Nadal is one of the game’s greats.
The Australian Open hasn’t always been a happy hunting ground for Nadal. He’s won the title once in 2009. In Melbourne we’ve seen him injured, ill and vanquished in gladiatorial epics. It’s been a very different story in Paris where Rafa has been all but unstoppable since claiming that first title on in 2005. He remains (so far) undefeated in a final.
His French Open record is simply unrivalled. For well over a decade the rule of thumb has been if Rafael Nadal turns up at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal wins Roland Garros.
To find the next best we have to go back a century to Frenchman Max Decugis who won eight titles between 1903 and 1914 plus a swag of doubles and mixed doubles titles. You wonder what might have happened if World War I hadn’t forced the tournament’s cancellation during the war years. Decugis record stood unchallenged for 100 years until that Spanish kid crashed into the record books.
Rafael Nadal’s Roland Garros statistics are extraordinary. In the 13 years since winning the title on debut, he has been beaten at the clay court grand slam only three times. He was knocked out by eventual runner up Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009 in a massive upset. He wasn’t beaten again until 2015, racking up another five titles along the way. In 2015 he fell in the quarters to Novak Djokovic and, in his worst French Open performance, lost in the third round in 2016.
Failing to win Roland Garros twice in a row led some to conclude Rafa’s reign was over.
“Rafa will retire soon. He’s too hard on his body. He’s done,” my partner – a Federer man – has often predicted. Plenty of commentators have shared his views.
But just as even his most loyal fans began to write him off, Rafa came back to claim an epic 10th Roland Garros title in 2017. And he’s not done yet.
For 14 years I’ve followed Rafa’s career closely. The only time I’ve seen him play in person was at the 2013 US Open after I flew to New York to finalise my own ‘tourist grand slam’. He won that title too.
Rafa has been very entertaining. His passing shots can make the best in the world look like weekend hacks. Then there’s that snarl, the first pump and those guns. He’s also a little eccentric – take the obsessive-compulsive precision applied to lining up his water bottles by his chair. I’ve always thought that if I was Rafa’s opponent and I wanted to mess him up, I’d rearrange his water bottles at a change of ends.
Rafael Nadal is also gracious in both victory and defeat and a role model off the court. Ever read an article about a Nadal scandal? Ever heard of him being booted drunk from a night club, trashing hotel rooms? Ever seen him arrested? Nope. Another thing I love about Rafael Nadal. He’s class.
On Sunday Rafael Nadal will play in an 11th French Open singles final. If he wins he will pass the $100 million mark in career prize money. Standing in his way will be Austrian 24-year-old Dominic Thiem. Thiem will be in his first Grand Slam final. Importantly he is the only man to beat Rafael Nadal on clay in the last two years prompting predictions that a changing of the guard might be coming and the king’s reign by be about to end.
That swashbuckling 17-year old kid I first saw in 2004 is now a grizzled veteran of 32 – only a year younger than I was when I first saw him.
After smashing his way through Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets to reach Sunday’s French Open final, Nadal told the post-match press conference he knows “the years are coming fast” and there aren’t 10 more years to play here. Inevitably Rafa’s reign must end.
I hope it lasts just a little bit longer. Vamos Rafa.