Rafael Nadal is a player who made sweat, toil, endurance and sheer effort look fascinating. Watching him run around the court, from one extremity to another, was often demanding. Add to that the humility and the halting English and it made for a figure both engaging and endearing. At the beginning of his career, Nadal, who announced on Thursday that he will retire after this year’s Davis Cup, made his name as Roger Federer’s kryptonite — the peerless Swiss conquering everything and everyone else on the circuit. First it was just clay, and die-hard Federer fans could afford to shrug their shoulders and hope that normal order would be restored in due course. But when it began to happen with regularity on hard courts and grass, it called for grudging admiration.
Nadal’s 22 Grand Slam singles titles was an unprecedented achievement, till Novak Djokovic went past the mark. Together, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic ruled the tennis firmament like no one before, or dare one say, after. Their clashes and the relentless quest for excellence they sparked in each other took tennis to another level and brought a new audience to the sport. Their spot in sporting history and their contribution goes way beyond numbers — the 66 Grand Slam singles titles between them.
