From the early hours of this Tuesday to Wednesday, the sporting career of Nadal ended. This becomes strange, but since the right to Van de Zandschulp will crash into the body of GranollersRafa is already known as a former tennis player. An ending in two acts, because it was necessary to wait until the final point for its withdrawal to be official.
The Balearic Islands end like this a journey of 23 years of flight with more joy (1,080 victories) than sadness (228 defeats). In addition to a track record which includes 92 titles: 22 Grand Slams, 36 Masters 1000, 23 ATP500 and 10 ATP250. Added to these exploits are two Olympic gold medals and 5 Davis Cups, a tournament with which he put the icing on the cake of his career on the field.
A bond that began in 2003 and that same year, this already propelled him to the forefront. It was at La Cartuja stadium, in Seville, during the second match of the final that Spain won against the United States. A hairless Nadal made him retire Andy Roddickstemming from being world number one and conquering the US Open the previous year. From that moment, Espala understood that a new chapter was opening in his tennis book.
The one loaded with triumphs which, 20 years later, NAdal writes his epilogue in Malaga with five salad bowls under his arm. In a sport, tennis, in which players constantly move on the wire, Nadal was the best tightrope walker. His head continues to entertain this idea, but his body, the one that has been sending him intense signals for two years, thinks the opposite. He explains it himself.
“Thank you very much team. Now it’s your turn. The reality is that you never want to reach that moment. My body has reached a point where it no longer wants to play tennis. I feel privileged to make this race longer than I would have imagined,” he said at the Martín Carpena circuit during the tribute to his career.
The Spaniard hasn’t felt like a tennis player for years, at least as he understands it, that is, he fully participates in the competition on the court. “Ideal goodbyes only happen in American films.” Nadal was clear. His end to tennis was intermittent.
