Rafael Nadal has conquered the Paris public. It is the last stage of a long relationship with the Roland Garros stands forged over 17 years of courtship that have ended up surrendering at the feet of the king of clay.
As the player hints that his participation in the Grand Slam on clay, the place where he has cemented his legend, are numbered, the spectators have increased the dose of support for the Spanish.
The summit of the idyll was lived in the quarterfinals on Tuesday against the Serbian Novak Djokovic, turned into a movie script in the stands, the good against the bad. Fans chanted Nadal’s name, “Rafa Rafa! while they booed some gestures from the Serbian, who as a sign of discontent, did not even say hello when he left the track.
Thirteen titles later and numerous feats on the court, they have ended up conquering an audience that, back in 2005, saw a player from another era disembark, dressed as a pirate, with his sleeves cut off and an aggressive gesture, and who was not welcomed with pleasure.
Nadal revolutionized many aspects of the circuit and, above all, he brought a rarely seen cheekiness to the track. The public received it with coldness, if not animosity. He doesn’t like players who crush their rivals because, among other things, they shorten matches.
Rafa, who at that time barely spoke English, was courting the French. As his deeds reigned on the court, the tennis player dropped phrases in his language, he always had words of thanks to the public. Even when he crushed his local idol, Richard Gasquet.
For years, the relationship with the public was marked by the preference that the French reserved for the Swiss Roger Federer, Nadal’s scapegoat. Not the best way to win over the public.
“AT THE BEGINNING IT COST”
Over time, as Nadal was amassing titles, the public asked for fresh air, a different winner and they did not hesitate to support the rivals of the Spaniard. “At the beginning it cost more”, Nadal acknowledged a few years ago, who remembered that in 2009, when he suffered his first defeat against the Swedish Robin Soderling, he lacked some respect from the stands. None of this disturbed the player, who continued to drop phrases in French and continued with his way of being, humble, without protest on the track.
The fans have come to realize that they are witnessing an exceptional moment in the history of the tournament, a tennis player who, like no one else, has been able to adapt to the conditions and raise the level to limits never before reached. They have realized that they live in a historic moment.
“The public appreciates the history we have in this tournament. They know that for me it is the most important lathe of my career, that I have behaved appropriately in every way, at the fighting level and at the level of complaints”, he explained.
The tennis player, who in the last tournament in Rome assured that he has a foot problem that makes him suffer, has managed to dominate it for this Roland Garros. But, after his favorite tournament, all options are on the table. He promises to speak when his participation ends and then the secrecy that has been surrounding his state of health will end.
For now, the stands will have, at least, a new opportunity to acclaim him. It will be his birthday, in the semifinal against the German Alexander Zverev, another player who fits well into the character of the bad guy in the movie.
