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Whatever it was, we know now, Rafa found it again in New York. In 2017, he won his third Open title. In 2018, he won a classic late-night match over Dominic Thiem before retiring in the semis. And in 2019, in a classic final against Daniil Medvedev, he won title No. 4.
Nadal’s story is different at each Grand Slam. In Australia, he’s a hard-luck case. Injuries have forced him out of the event multiple times, and twice he’s let a fifth-set lead slip in the final. In Paris, he morphs into the king of the sport. Along with his superiority on clay, everything has broken in his favor at Roland Garros; there have been no ill-timed rain delays that have played havoc with his matches, and only once, in 2016, did he have to withdraw due to injury. At Wimbledon, Nadal has gone from riches (five finals from 2006 to 2011), to rags (five early losses from 2012 to 2017), and back to the semis in 2018 and 2019. At the Open, though, his story has been the one that he likes to tell about himself, one that’s about struggling to overcome obstacles and achieving hard-earned successes. He’ll always be most closely identified with Roland Garros, for obvious reasons, but I think his career at the Open has been the most characteristic of his personality.
As with other European champions from the past, it took Rafa a few years to get settled in New York and find his rhythm on its hard courts. In 2004, he was mincemeat for a motivated Andy Roddick in a night match, and he didn’t fare much better against James Blake in 2005. But he was never going to be content with being a clay-court specialist, and he never approached the Open pessimistically, despite those early defeats. In 2006, he made the quarters, in 2008 and 2009 he made the semis, and in 2010 he beat Novak Djokovic, on Djokovic’s favorite surface, to complete his career Grand Slam.
Over the last three years, when Nadal has enjoyed a late-career renaissance, his biggest successes have come at the Open. They’ve been among the most rewarding Grand Slam runs of his career, and among the most entertaining for fans. In 2017, he won his first major title outside of Paris in four years. In 2018, before retiring in the semifinals, he won a series of brutally close battles, over Karen Khachanov, Nikoloz Basilashvili, and Thiem at 2:30 in the morning. In 2019, Nadal closed the decade with one of his most satisfying victories, a five-set final-round win over Medvedev in which he lost his nerve for two sets, before finding it when he needed it in the fifth.
“This trophy means everything to me today,” Nadal said after that win. “Personal satisfaction the way that I resisted all these tough moments is very high.”
“All the things I went through, to be able to still being here, is so special for me.”
This year, Nadal won’t have a chance to defend his title or “resist any tough moments.” Yesterday, he announced that he won’t play the Open due to coronavirus concerns. For him, there’s already enough adversity in the world right now without him having to add his own. Hopefully we’ll see him in Paris, where he will probably dominate again. But we’ll miss seeing his struggles, and his harder-earned successes, in New York.
