12/13/13
This may be only my second blog post, ever, but those of you who know me will attest to the fact that I can never get enough of watching some good tennis on the TV; especially when Rafael Nadal is on one end of the court. Right now I’m watching a repeat the this year’s Roland Garros semi-final match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. I can hear my family asking, “haven’t you seen that at least 100 times?” Yes, but some things just bear repeating. At the time we Rafa fans didn’t know it, but he was just getting into the heart of perhaps his greatest (and one of tennis’ greatest) season ever. Instead we knew that Rafa we trying to come back from a 7 month injury layoff to win a tournament that he had won 7 out that last 8 tries. The first time I watched this match I felt a sense of resignation. Rafa was still not playing at his previous god-like level and had struggled to get this far. But now he was up against the current #1 and a player who had owned him in 2011 and the rest of the tour in 2011 and 2012. Novak had beaten Rafa just a month earlier in another tournament (Monte Carlo), the Rafa had owned for the last 8 years. I just wanted Rafa to make him work and keep it respectable. But Rafa had other plans. And so the match went on with several changes of momentum.Eventually they got to a 5th set, Novak got to a 4-1 lead, but Rafa fought back to win the next 2 games. Then at deuce in the 8th game, Novak appeared to hit a winner at the net, but stumbled to touch it before the ball had bounced twice; point Nadal. Eventually Rafa held serve to win his 3rd game in a row and Novak, instead of serving for the match, had to serve to stay in it. Finally, serving at 7-8, Novak lost his confidence and the match with 4 straight points to Nadal. Probably one of the best French Open matches I ever watched, but more importantly it reinforced to me why I love to watch and root for Rafa; he never gives up. He believes that no matter how well his opponent plays or how relatively poorly (Rafa never plays badly) he play, he can always find a way to win. So it bears repeating, accomplishments (large or small) don’t always come to the best player, just the one who wants it more.
Note: I started writing this post on 12/13/13, but decided not to post it. Then a few days ago Rafa was playing in the semifinal of the inaugural Rio Open again Pablo Andujar, a player to whom he’d beaten twice before in straight sets. Again, Rafa was not at his best and still came out ahead against an opponent, who later said he’d player the match of this life and still lost. So I was inspired to revisit these thoughts and finally post them for your benefit. 😉
jrandymac 