Conquistador

When Rafael Nadal won the Roland Garros final against Roger Federer last year, I distinctly remember the Roland Garros commentator being able to say nothing more than, "Rafa Nadal, Rafa Nadal, Rafa Nadal." I was very preoccupied at the time with being sad about Federer losing, and so they might have said other stuff that I've forgotten about, but that one stayed with me. I pictured the commentator sitting there and shaking his head in disbelief at what this twenty-one year old had done. Because, as we often forget, Rafa is very young. He's been around forever, but today was his birthday: his twenty-second birthday. Rafael Nadal, three time Grand Slam champion, most dominant #2 player ever and arguably the greatest claycourter of all time, is younger than I am. (By less than a year, sure - but if you compare what I have achieved in my life to what Rafa has, the difference is pretty pronounced!)

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People are always talking about the 'Big Three' in men's tennis: Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, and about how Djokovic is rising so fast and about how Federer had better watch his back. If one of these three tennis players could be called the forgotten member of the Big Three, it's definitely Nadal. When he was the only real challenger to the Federer dominance, people were talking about him all the time. Now that there's a new guy, people tend to forget about Rafa a little bit.

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They shouldn't. No one should ever, ever forget about Rafa Nadal.

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I am, above all things, a Federer fan, and I think there has been a point in every Federer fan's life where they have hated Rafa with a fiery passion. I know I used to dislike him vehemently, especially in 2006, when Federer's emotional victory at the Australian Open turned me from a person who liked tennis into an avid follower. This was the claycourt season when, for the first time, it seemed like Roger had a real chance at winning the Slam. One man stood in his way. Rafa Nadal. And that kid is some roadblock.

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It is not Novak Djokovic who has stopped Federer winning the Slam. There has only ever been one man who can claim to have stopped the inexorable Fed-Express. Rafa Nadal.

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These were the days when Rafa, who was very young, nineteen, twenty, used to celebrate like a crazy monkey on court when he won, after every point, whether it was a winner or a mistake of the opponent. For me, attracted to the calm, gentlemanlike demeanour of Federer, this was the nail in Rafa's coffin. 'Vamos' was possibly my least favourite word - after maybe Lleyton's interminable 'c'mon.' And then there was the constant, smothering presence of Uncle Toni - so smothering that even Federer, the eternal sportsman, accused him of oncourt coaching.

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But then something happened. Rafa grew up.

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As one of the top players in the world, it is Rafa's duty to be a statesman and a spokesperson for tennis. In those early days, when he was just a big kid, dancing around and Vamosing on court, there was the phenomenon of 'Rafamania,' but there were also an equal amount of people that disliked him. But over the years, we have seen Rafa mature incredibly. He has assumed the mantle of statesman, as international representative for tennis, calmed down, cooled down, and dug his heels in. Often, those crazy-monkey celebrators, the precocious kids, are flashes in the pan.

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Not Rafa.

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This kid is here to stay.

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I'm not sure when I started liking Rafa. Early last year sometime, maybe. It was, like Rafa's growing up, such a gradual process that I barely noticed it happening. But Rafael Nadal is an excellent role model, in my opinion, for young tennis players. He is a brilliant player. He has held down that #2 spot for 150 weeks now. He has won three Roland Garroses and reached two Wimbledon finals. And he is still humble, still real. This is the boy who brought his mother as his date to the Laureus Awards. This is the boy who still lives in the same building as his family when he is at home in Mallorca. This is the boy who never assumes, never makes excuses, and can take it like a man when he loses.

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I could go on a tangent here and say that this attitude is the result of the influence of Federer on the game as well as Rafa, but to place Federer in the role of Obi-Wan might be taking away a little from Rafa. Federer has been an excellent influence on the game in terms of humility and decorum, but Rafa got where he is all by himself. You can't count Rafa out, can't brush him aside. Ever.

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I often say that Novak Djokovic has got some lessons to learn from Roger Federer. He has some to learn from Rafa Nadal, too.

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These two will meet in the semi finals of Roland Garros. The #2 ranking is on the line. Djokovic comes into it off a good tournament, though his quarter final against Ernests Gulbis was a struggle at worst, and scratchy at best - a match that went over three hours. Rafael Nadal is coming off five matches where he has conceded only twenty five games. His opponent in the quarter finals, Nicolas Almagro, has been described as a claycourt bandito. He leads the circuit this year with the most wins on clay, including titles at Acapulco and Costa do Sauipe. Rafa himself conceded that Almagro is someone that could beat him on clay.

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Today, the third of June 2008, on his twenty-second birthday, Rafa Nadal beat Nicolas Almagro 6-1 6-1 6-1.

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I won't lie. I desperately want Roger Federer to win this year's French Open, to complete the set of Slams for his career, to fill that missing spot on his trophy shelf. But if Rafa Nadal wins, for the fourth year in the row, then I don't think I'll be that disappointed - because there is nobody, NOBODY, that can say this kid doesn't deserve it.

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Happy birthday, Rafa.

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Roland Garros Results - Day #10

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Men's Draw

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Rafael Nadal def. Nicolas Almagro, 6-1 6-1 6-1

Novak Djokovic def. Ernests Gulbis, 7-5 7-6 (7-3) 7-5

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Women's Draw

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Ana Ivanovic def. Patty Schnyder, 6-3 6-2

Jelena Jankovic def. Carla Suarez Navarro, 6-3 6-2

Svetlana Kuznetsova def. Victoria Azarenka, 6-2 6-3

Kaia Kanepi def. Petra Kvitova, 6-3 3-6 6-1