Is there a more comforting sight than the walls of your home after you’ve spent a long time away? Home is where you are safest and most in control. You know which corners are dusty and which switches have stopped working; you are flawless at anticipating the rhythm to the creak of your washroom door.
For Rafael Nadal, the orange clay, turquoise backboards, and even the giant BNP Paribas logo of Court Philippe-Chatrier must feel like home. To watch Nadal at the French Open is to watch a man in complete control of not only his game, but where it is played and sometimes, even the opponent. I wonder if anyone has ever asked him, but Nadal might be able to tell the length of shadows on either side of the court down to the millimetre. If, at some point in his remaining career, he decides to plant a Trespassers Not Allowed signboard somewhere near the court, it would make sense.
Every May, as soon as Nadal’s white private jet begins its descent for the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, the editors of his Wikipedia page get ready to change the number for Grand Slam and French Open titles.
Did they do it this year too? They would’ve been tempted, but the surrounding circumstances of this edition must have been difficult to look past. The inevitability of Nadal emerging victorious is slightly, only a little, diminished.
For starters, the pandemic has had an undeniably adverse impact on the creatures of rhythm and habit that are elite athletes like Nadal. He spends most of his non-tennis time in sunny and coastal Mallorca, and is used to the subtle warmness of the Parisian summer as his ally. This time, though, he will play the French Open at the end of autumn, in sub-50 degree temperatures. The winds will blow in unusual directions and the clay will be damp, directly impacting the bounce and skid of the tennis ball. The medical protocols have also imposed restrictions on the size of support staff Nadal can carry with him. His favourite restaurants will probably be out of access too.
Home isn’t quite home when the windows are closed and the furniture is rearranged.
Secondly, his two primary competitors — if there exists such a thing — for the French Open title are coming with a tailwind of solid, competitive tennis. Dominic Thiem, last year’s runners-up, will be carrying the momentum of his US Open title from earlier this month. Thiem has long been tagged as the future of tennis, the one who will usher in the post-Big Three era. There is a lot about his game that screams multiple Grand Slam winner, and finally, there is a shelf on his cupboard to back the hype up. He will be ready.
Novak Djokovic — the man, the myth, and the flawed legend — is almost always motivated, but will be extra eager to set his year back on track after the unceremonious exit from the US Open. Up until he decided to self-destruct at New York, Novak had been unbeaten this year, and with Federer and Nadal cautious about their return to competitive tennis, he had a good chance to end the year with 0 in the defeats column. Public love has come at a premium for Novak; and after the many events he has been involved in over the last few months, he may never enjoy the adulation his two big rivals do, but he can end up just as successful, if not more. Novak will know that Grand Slam number 18 isn’t too far away, and neither is number 20.
And 20, indeed, is the magic number Nadal will be thinking of. All his career, ever since he defeated Mariano Puerta two days after turning nineteen, Nadal has chased a man and his jetstream. He has had the better of the man many times, but never been this close to his tail. When he enters the Chatrier court today afternoon, he will be two good weeks away from standing beside Roger Federer as the most decorated male tennis player of all time.
Maybe for the first time in a decade and a half, Nadal will feel rusty and a little unsure at Roland Garros. He will be on familiar ground, the BNP Paribas logo will still be as large, but he might suddenly find opponents reacting better to the whip of his topspin. He will have to search for clues to tell him he’s okay. It’s very tempting to think that this could be that year. You know, the one when Nadal doesn’t quite get it right, and somebody else will be waiting to cash in. Honestly, that thought has crossed my mind.
But right after, I found myself thinking about the things that make Nadal Nadal. Many players have big, powerful forehands, many others can bank on bottomless pits of endurance; some have great control over their topspin, some — like Novak — thrive on improbable angles and even more improbable situations. But I would wager that Nadal isn’t defined by any of this.
Instead, he lives on chasing a ball until the opponent taps out or the court pleads for mercy. Close your eyes and think of Nadal. What do you see? A man in a bandana, wearing tight fluorescent clothing and a tighter scowl, running around the court as if his life depended on the point in play. Have you ever seen Rafael Nadal giving up a point before the ball has passed his hitting arc?
At his second home, on his comeback from a forced, prolonged break, Rafael Nadal will be battling demons he has rarely had to in the past. But if there is one tennis player you could bet on to overcome this, it is him.