I Like Rafa, I Sure Do

It was the late 1950s and early 1960s. Like other boys in my east Dallas neighborhood, I chose “favorite” athletes in the main sports. Mine were Paul Hornung (Green Bay Packers) in football, Eddie Matthews (Milwaukee Braves) in baseball and Elgin Baylor (Los Angeles Lakers) in basketball. These choices were subjective, and yet all three have been inducted into their respective halls of fame. So I had a clue as to who could and could not play.

I have long since given up such puerile notions, or so I like to think. There is one other jock of whom I am enamored. It’s not Tiger Woods in golf or Sugar Ray Leonard in boxing, although I held them in high esteem. Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pelé) may have been soccer’s greatest player, but I never saw him and so he’s out. I would say the same thing about Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings) in hockey. While I wrote of him admiringly in one of my Trivia Teasers books, it would be a stretch to say I knew of his mastery on the ice. I once had the honor of meeting Carl Lewis and told him—this was not flattery since the man had already heard every conceivable accolade—that his credentials as the top track and field athlete of all time are strong. It’s not Woods, Leonard, Pelé, Howe or Lewis.

(Should I apologize for the glaring gender imbalance here? I have made reference to eight athletes, and all are guys. There is one female who has my heart, and I have devoted an article to her: Mildred “Babe” Didrikson of Beaumont, Texas. She excelled as a basketball player, track and field athlete, and golfer; she also had a vibrant personality. If I have to put a woman on my list, it would be the Babe.)

OK, enough dancing around the issue. I am a big fan of Rafael Nadal, tennis player extraordinaire out of Mallorca, Spain. Born in 1986, he stands 6′ 1″ and weighs 185 pounds, an athlete in full. That, I confess, is one of the reasons I like Rafa—his fabulous physique. Steroid-ingesting body builders aside, I have seen few guys with such broad shoulders, narrow hips and muscle tone. Did you know that his left arm (he’s a lefty) is 30% bigger than his right one from all those years of swinging a tennis racket?

He recently turned 35 and is not quite as handsome as before, with lines on his face. His long, flowing hair is gone too, and I really wonder why. One more superficial point about Nadal is that I fancy his on-court attire. The capri pants (also given up a few years ago), the sleeveless shirts and headbands just look right on him. I do think the Nike swoosh is a bit too prominent, however. Look closely and you can find at least 10 of them on his headband, shirt, wristbands, shorts, socks and shoes. Nike pays him $10 million a year (Nadal is the world’s 27th richest athlete [$124 million and counting in prize money], according to Forbes magazine) to go along with numerous other endorsements. Some observers have pointed out that in light of his tremendous achievements, he could and should be bringing in far more bucks. It is absurd that Kei Nishikori—who?—and Naomi Osaka have better deals than Rafa.

Now, Nadal the tennis player. He was introduced to the game at age 3 by his uncle, Toni Nadal. He began to win regional youth tournaments five years later, and Spanish and European titles at 12. Clearly ready for the big time, Nadal turned pro at 15.

(Toni coached his nephew until 2015, when Nadal’s performance entered a brief swoon. This painful separation from a family member who had been deeply involved in his success did not embitter either of them; Toni now runs the Rafa Nadal Tennis Academy in Mallorca. A fellow Spaniard named Carlos Moyá came on board and soon got him winning again.)

I do not propose to detail every tourney Nadal has won, from Cincinnati to Monte Carlo to Kuala Lumpur, or what he has done in doubles or Davis Cup competition. Let’s just hit the high points. Nadal’s overall career record is currently 1,028-209, and he has won 88 titles. That includes the French Open in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020; Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010; the U.S. Open in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019; and the Australian Open in 2009. I will add that Nadal took gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Andre Agassi, the winner of eight majors himself, considers Nadal the best player of all time, and he is not alone.

Known for his heavy-topspin forehand, Nadal is also adept at breaking serve. He is relentless on the baseline and can stroke a winning shot like nobody’s business. I love his demeanor during a match. Nadal plays with fervor, giving the impression that every point is of profound significance. While I admire this trait, I am no less appreciative of his good sportsmanship. It is indicative that he has won the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award four times. Throwing rackets, preening, badgering umpires or playing mind games with his opponents—this is not his way. Win or lose, Nadal treats the man on the other side of the net with respect. Pancho Gonzales, Ilie Nastase, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe and Serena Williams had no such scruples.

His rivalries with Roger Federer (40 matches at this time) and Novak Djokovic (58) have been intense but respectful. (Some people who know tennis better than I say Federer, Djokovic and Nadal are the top three male players ever.) This is the main reason I could never get fully on board with Muhammad Ali. Great athlete and boxer, but his shameful treatment of Floyd Patterson, Ernie Terrell, Joe Frazier and others was highly problematic.

Our guy has had a long career, but he is nearing the end. Injuries (left shoulder, left wrist and both knees) have nagged him in recent years. A bigger concern is that he has Muller-Weiss syndrome, a degenerative disease in which some bones located in the central part of both feet are deformed; treatment and recovery have been fitful. Often at the top of the ATP rankings between 2008 and 2019, he has now fallen to sixth. People have counted him out before, and he always roared back. I would not be surprised to see him win another major, especially at Roland Garros in Paris where the clay court suits his game.

In a star-studded wedding in 2019, he married his long-time GF, Maria Francisca Perello. She is secure enough in their relationship not to follow Rafa on tour to keep an eye on him, knowing full well that many young female tennis fans consider him the cat’s meow. He and “Xisca” are talking about starting a family. Call me biased—and I am—but Nadal is almost certainly a devoted husband and will be a good father to some very attractive kids.

#RafaNadal #protennis #wimbledon #RogerFederer #NovakDjokovic #GOAT #mallorca