good morning! And welcome to another hoddle about last week’s news, where your hoddler-in-chief gives his thoughts about topics whose timeliness expired days ago —
Today we reflect on the career of Rafael Nadal, who last week announced that he will retire from tennis at the Davis Cup.
We’ll likely have a larger Rafael Nadal post once he does actually retire, but for now let’s remember his accomplishments and appreciate his place in the greatest era of men’s tennis.
Nadal won 22 Grand Slam titles, an Olympics Gold medal in singles and doubles, won the Davis Cup four times with Spain, 36 Masters 1000 titles and held the World No. 1 spot for a total 209 weeks.
Those are mind boggling in whichever order you place them.
His career will forever be linked to Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, as it should be. He and Federer played against each other 40 times, whereas he played against Djokovic 60 times.
But what he had that neither Federer nor Djokovic ever had was an intensity that lasted from the tunnel walk all the way through to the end of the match. Very few players in the men’s or women’s game even came close to his intensity.
What made him so exciting to watch was that he lured you onto the court with him, playing every single point with such tenacity. Top players needed to hit three or four winner-like shots just to have a chance at beating Rafa at a point. He never gave up on any ball. It was admirable to watch.
We’re about a month out from his retirement. When he does, it’ll be the starkest signal yet of the end of the Big Four era. Federer in 2022. And now Murray and Rafa this year.
Soon the only man left standing will be Djokovic. But even he is showing signs of age, as demonstrated by his most recent defeat to Jannik Sinner in the final of the Shanghai Masters.
So as we prepare for the eventual end to the Big Four, let’s appreciate the moments we have left with them in the sport.
Fitzie’s track of the day: Tender Is The Night, by Jackson Browne
And now for your links:
Football London on Ange Postecoglou’s to-do list
90min ranks the 13 most influential footballers in fashion
MK Dons to host AFC Wimbledon in FA Cup and other first-round fixtures
