Roland-Garros | The possible end of Rafael Nadal’s great epic

No one had won the same major tournament 14 times before Rafael Nadal. And no one will probably ever succeed after him.

The most French of Spaniards crossed the Porte d’Auteuil for the 19^e time in his prolific career, Monday, with the certain intention of making it to the second Sunday of the Roland-Garros tournament. One of the greatest champions in tennis history certainly had a 15^e final in his line of sight.

But as the draw had given him Alexander Zverev as his first round opponent, we knew only too well that his chances of surviving were minimal. In what he announced would be the final season of his career, this presence on the Philippe-Chatrier court was undoubtedly going to be his last. For the occasion, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, among others, were attentive spectators in the stands. After all, even if each of them has already marked their sport in their own way, none has done it like Nadal on this same court, at this same tournament. Where his 14 triumphs, his 112-3 record and his perfect finals record will forever survive as unattainable marks.

This first round match, therefore, had none of the character of a usual opening clash between the 4^e and the 275^e world ranking player. The tension was at its peak, because every time the story is written or a chapter ends, you can be on the edge of your seat.

And even though 10 years and 271 ranking places separated Zverev and Nadal, this entry meeting was worthy of a second week clash. It ended in three sets of 6-3, 7-6 and 6-3 to Zverev’s advantage in three hours and five minutes, but the quality of the exchanges, the length of the important points and the incessant changes of rhythm will have delighted tennis fans until the very end.

When Nadal sent his final uncrossed forehand behind the baseline, the consternation quickly gave way to an ovation longer than the left-hander’s pre-serve routine, which is saying something.

As tradition dictates, the winner first addressed the crowd, but Zverev quickly passed the ball back to Nadal: “I don’t know what to say. Thank you Rafa, on behalf of the entire tennis world. […] It’s not my moment, it’s Rafa’s. »

Then, when the winner of 22 major titles came to the microphone, exhausted, but visibly calm, he refused to say goodbye. “I’m not 100% sure, but if it was the last time, it was incredible,” he told the Parisian crowd.

“There is still a high percentage of chance that I will not be back,” he said a few moments later.

In any case, even if he was knocked out of his favorite tournament for the first time in his career and added Zverev to the short list of those who knocked him out of this tournament, the others being Robin Soderling and Novak Djokovic, Nadal does not have to be ashamed of the way in which he fought his last battle on the red sand of this legendary central court.

Fight to the end

Before the tournament, Nadal had inherited the worst possible opponent in Zverev. Not because the German will soon go before the courts for domestic violence against two former spouses, but because he had just triumphed at the Rome tournament.

At least Nadal could rely on the fact that he had won seven of their ten clashes.

However, from the first game of the match, Nadal was broken. Whitened in service from the start. Then, when it was Zverev’s turn to serve, he was uncompromising. Still late in the first set, his ratio of points won on first serve was 100%. His angles of attack and his varied patterns also showed to what extent Nadal no longer had the same passion and explosiveness as before.

However, that was before Zverev was beaten at his own game. Nadal, obviously less powerful and less agile than at his first coronation in 2005, played with certainties. First, going up to the net. He remains one of the best in history in this phase of the game, if not the best, an underestimated quality in him. Then, by looking for angles, the ground invariably opens up. Then, by taking care of your drop shots, on clay, the opponent can hardly get to the ball.

By gradually incorporating these factors, the beast awoke. Nadal regained color and the second set stretched to the tiebreaker, and was won 7-5 by snatch by Zverev.

It would then have been very unwise to bet on a low-scoring third set, even if that is what happened, at 6-3. Nadal, however, fought tirelessly until the end. At 2-2, the Spaniard’s service game lasted more than 12 minutes. He saved four break points to take a 3-2 lead. But as at the start of the match, Zverev got out of trouble with his service, and also the quality of his backhand, which Nadal never managed to tame.

Even if the result was predictable, the manner was enough to surprise more than one person. However, it was necessary to vigorously underestimate Nadal to assume that he would offer weak opposition.

The following

If Nadal confirmed very little after the match, he did however announce his presence at the Paris Olympic Games this summer.

The quadrennial competition will be played on the courts of Roland-Garros at the end of July and the beginning of August. Nadal has already won Olympic gold in singles in Beijing in 2008 and in men’s doubles in Rio in 2016. We hear that he could pair up with Carlos Alcaraz in Paris.

As for Wimbledon, played just a few weeks before the Olympic Games, Nadal has more chance of shining by his absence than by his outbursts on the court. The abrupt change in surface between grass and clay would undoubtedly be excessive for the worn body of the player who will be 38 years old on June 3.

But as the bull has not officially said his last word, he could end his career the same way he led it: by never ceasing to surprise us.