French Open: How Rafael Nadal Embodied Stand-Out Trait Even in Heart-Shattering Loss to Alexander Zverev

A statue on the grounds. A 15 thousand-strong crowd echoing one name. A legacy career. If lore could’ve borne a man across the tide, Rafael Nadal would have clinched another title in Paris. But neither tide nor time have waited for the Spaniard who defies all odds. Almost. Beloved and accomplished as he is, age is no longer merely a number. Then again, what matters a number when your spirit refuses to die?

When the 37-year-old Nadal stepped onto Court Philippe-Chatrier on Sunday, emotions were at an all-time high. The raucous French audience – though also boasting of the likes of players from all over – sat at the edge of its seats. Caught in the heady mix of what has been and what could be, they were barely contained for the entirety of three hours. All this, for the man who in 2009 dejectedly said, “It’s too bad really… at a tournament that means so much to me and is so beautiful… that the public has never made such a gesture to me … I hope one year, the public will do that for me.” It only took fifteen years.

World No. 4 Alexander Zverev, arguably in the form of his life, delivered on all fronts in what turned out to be a spectacular finish to the tournament’s start. But it was a start at least partly dampening, as the on-court interviewer himself admitted: “Of course, this was not the best match to start a tournament like this.”

The German polished off a weary Rafael Nadal in three straight sets without major hiccups. For tennis fans everywhere, this would have been a harder pill to swallow if not for the German’s class act. Keep in mind: Zverev needed to redeem himself from a career-risking ankle twist right here two years ago, and the very prospect of successfully delivering a Nadal loss on Paris clay is, to date, a tantalizing one.

Composed throughout the three-hour duel, Zverev did enough to tilt the scales in his favor at clutch moments. A somber nod later, even his on-court interview cognized the gravity of the moment: “Today isn’t my moment. It’s Rafa’s.”

Indeed it was. For the first time in his storied career, the Spaniard was unseeded at the French Open – the tournament he has won a whopping fourteen times. It is a record that is unlikely to be broken any time soon. It is also one of many other decorated records, among which is also the fact that Nadal had only ever been defeated before the fourth round at the tournament by two other people before Zverev – Novak Djokovic and Robin Soderling. For context: he has played 116 matches at Roland Garros.

A bland recounting of statistics aside, Nadal was arguably the underdog coming into the match – something that is difficult to recall in his life on court. Having played only intermittently the past two years owing to hip surgeries and a recurring abdominal muscle injury, the Spanish bull has had a tough road back. Unsurprisingly, the Nadal who stepped into the court yesterday was a shadow of the Rafa of yore.

But make no mistake, the heart, the toil, the desire to triumph that has by now become habit, was left on display for all. If nothing else, the see-sawing third set ensured that fans got their money’s worth of scintillating drama. There were also some sightings of now-iconic celebrations to boot: Nadal’s cheers and jumps and one-arm fist bumps orchestrated fans to their feet. It might have been a losing symphony, but even the falling cadence couldn’t steer the crowds away. Nadal, always notoriously stoic in defeat, was for once, visibly moved as he addressed the stadium.

Usually stoic, Nadal shows vulnerability in emotional address to the crowd

Reflecting on what could very well prove to be a final appearance, only one thing was certain: the man from Mallorca registered his uncertainty. A short while of two months seemed to be a recurrent parameter in his scale of progress: “The body is feeling better than it did two months ago… Maybe, in two months, I say it’s enough, I can’t give anything else. But that is something I don’t feel yet. I have goals. I hope to be back here for the Olympics, that motivates me.” We know as much as he knows, it seems.

The soon-to-be 38-year-old sighed as he walked up to the net. Perhaps the pragmatics of life have begun to dawn on him. But the fire in the beloved Spaniard’s eyes as he looked off into the distance delicately held a dream—a dream that has not yet fallen short, for the champion and all the hearts he reigns over. How does this end? Well, one must imagine the tennis gods still debating.