Rafael Nadal: Modest King

By Neil E. Schlecht - Monday, September 13, 2010 ( Published in

www.usopen.org )

Rafael Nadal began his career as the ruler of

relatively small provinces, the terre battue of
Roland Garros and the red clay of his native
Spain. Just out of his teens, though, he
audaciously announced his intention to
expand his fiefdom to the grasses of London,
where Roger Federer's Wimbledon reign was
considered invincible.

Most thought Nadal, well, delusional. But true to his determined vision, he
dethroned Federer, supplanted him as leader of men's tennis and
promptly announced that next on his list of desired conquests was
Flushing Meadows.

Today he gobbled that up, too. I guess we should have believed him when
he spoke.

When he spoke?

Though Nadal has demonstrated himself to be ruthless on court, lording

over his subjects and summarily banishing them en route to nine major
championships and 42 titles, off court he's anything but imperious. His
conqueror persona seems like a character he plays in competition.

With his violently torqued topspin forehand, Nadal's game is thoroughly

modern. His demeanor, though, is decidedly Old World.

Away from the rigid geometrical confines of a tennis court, Nadal is a

gracious and modest young man, with impeccable manners and respect
not only for his rivals but pretty much everyone he comes into contact
with: journalists, ballboys, tournament directors, drivers.

If you think this is a kid who was raised right, you're correct. He may have
been taught to be a great tennis player, but he wasn't necessarily
groomed to conquer the tennis world.

Nadal is famously family-centric. This multimillionaire Mallorcan still lives

in his inland boyhood town, Manacor, in a John Boy Walton-like townhouse
with each segment of his extended family on a different floor. His coach is
his unpaid uncle. The divorce of Nadal's parents, which came as he turned
23, was every bit as debilitating as the patella tendonitis that marred his
2009 season.
Nadal carries his own bags and, despite his fortune and worldwide fame,
doesn't expect to be granted extraordinary privileges. His parents and
Uncle Toni have taught him how privileged he already is.

As a tennis player, Nadal doesn't assume his very complete game is

unassailable. He believes he can continually improve. That's why just two
days before the beginning of the 2010 US Open - the title he professed to
covet more than any other - Nadal was tinkering with his service action,
slightly altering the grip. That audaciousness and willingness to adapt,
which immediately garnered him another 10 to 12 mph on his serve and
about a 10 percent improvement in points won on serve, is a major reason
Nadal is the champion he is.

"I go to practice every day not to practice; I go to practice every day to try
to learn something and to keep improving my level," Nadal said after his
throttling of Mikhail Youzhny in the semifinal.

Nadal may be alone at the top, but he is happy to share the spotlight. He
rarely misses an opportunity to extol Federer as the "best of the history."
Even as he rules in their head-to-head matchups, in Nadal's mind, Roger is
the greatest ever, and the Spaniard is merely pleased to share the stage
with him.

There's a video clip, famous because it is thought to reveal a shocking side

of Federer, from the aftermath of their epic battle in Melbourne in 2009.
But it may be more revealing about Nadal.

At the close of their spectacular, five-set Australian Open final, Federer

broke down in tears, unable to make it through his runner-up acceptance
speech before a stunned crowd. It was a supremely awkward moment. The
camera panned to Federer's speechless wife, Mirka, and then to Nadal, the
victor waiting to accept the trophy.

As Federer tearfully retreated from the podium, Nadal stepped forward to

give him a reprieve. But instead of grabbing the mic and celebrating
another victory in a major, Nadal, then just 22, instinctively approached
Federer and threw an arm around his rival's neck, putting the Swiss in a
friendly headlock. Nadal whispered words of encouragement in his ear,
and Federer found a way to compose himself.

Nadal wasn't about to allow his friend suffer an embarrassment of that

order. It was a striking moment, an act of generosity from the young
mensch, Nadal. And it went to the core of the immense respect and
friendship he shares with his comrade and fellow champion.

On court after his semifinal victory on Saturday, on a brilliant blue-skied

day that eerily recalled another Sept. 11, Nadal made a point of
addressing the lingering pain of that day. He later acknowledged his
annual pilgrimages to Ground Zero - something most of the public and
press were never privy to. In a time of famously self-centered athletes
with limited interests, for years Nadal ventured to lower Manhattan each
time he came to New York, but he never invited publicity. He went
because he wanted to pay his respects.

Nadal surely didn't envision those visits as part of staking his claim to New
York real estate. But at just 24, a shockingly young age to possess a
career Grand Slam, Nadal has quietly paid his dues.

After what we've been privileged to witness over the past six years or so,
who would've expected anything different?