“The last time they met this early in a draw was their very first encounter back in 2004, in the third round of the Miami Masters, when a then-17-year-old upstart Rafael Nadal — sleeveless and self-assured — introduced his matador’s mentality to top-ranked Roger Federer.”
The opening paragraph of an innocuous news article on the BNP Paribas Open website, and it nearly brought me to tears. Everything Rafa-related seems to, these days.
I remember the days of their dominance vividly. They are probably hard for any tennis fan to forget, regardless of biases and personal affiliations – the victories were strong, sweeping, and seemed to be everlasting. It was the rivalry of over a decade, probably the greatest rivalry of the sport. The first and second ranks were securely theirs, untouchable. Tournaments that would culminate in a Federer-Nadal final were inevitable, for years on end. Roland Garros belonged to Rafa; Wimbledon was Federer’s. I took those matches, and especially the match up of those finals, for granted. I think we all did.
I, personally, grew up with those matches. They were practically a formative part of my growing up years. Evenings, especially between May and July, were more often than not reserved for tennis viewing. Family holidays were scheduled to ensure that we were home during the two weeks of Roland Garros and Wimbledon – the two grand slams I’ve always been partial to. Friendships were either strengthened or paused during critical matches. The Sunday of the Final had an atmosphere of delicious anticipation from the moment I woke up, everyone in the house gearing up to watch what promised to be a nail-biting match in the evening. Every member of my family had their player – one of the two – that they defended with all their might. The same shot produced jubilation in someone, and disappointment in someone else in equal measure. The rivalry always slipped out of the television when we watched it.
It was a beautiful rivalry to watch and live through, one made even better – as if it needed to be better, as if it could be – by the camaraderie between the two. Poles apart in so many ways – their dress, their personalities, their temperament, and of course, the way they played the game, they had genuine affection and respect for each other
But slowly, as it always must, age caught up to the two Greats and injuries crept in. One man’s control over the sport slipped more gradually, while the other’s was more obvious and more volatile. The matches became less certain. The finals were few and far between. All the other men who must have been cursing their misfortune to be playing in this generation and among these men finally clawed their way back in, rising to power and prominence, racking up tournaments and ATP points, finally unsettling the number one and two spots. The epic rivalry remained, but perhaps diminished ever so slightly as the tennis world moved on and established a new normal. Rafa and Roger didn’t disappear, of course, but they were no longer the nucleus that the sport arranged itself around.
I have been incredibly relieved and more so, just grateful, to see that 2017 wasn’t done with them yet. After a fairly quiet 2016 for both players, this year began with a firecracker of an Australian Open final, a mouth-watering five-setter that reminded us that they were still capable of it, and how. It shamed everyone who had written them off prematurely. It brought new life into all the Rafa fans, the Roger fans, and the worshippers of the rivalry.
Tomorrow, we get to watch another Federer-Nadal match, and still early on in the year. It feels almost unreal, after a 2016 that saw no match between the two. The prospect of another match even dulls slightly the oddity of their meeting in the fourth round of a tournament. The happiness that comes with being able to watch them play each other again almost makes me less invested in the outcome. Almost.
The tennis world isn’t quite back to the way it was, but 2017 is inching towards it. Or at least letting us indulge in some much-needed nostalgia, and watch some excellent tennis while we’re at it.
Image by Nick Step (Roger Federer & Rafael Nadal) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
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