By any measure, Rafael Nadal’s loss at the French Open is tennis history. But the old coach in me hopes that fans don’t lose sight of the sports lesson even larger than the upset itself.
It had to happen someday. Raffa Nadal had to lose in Paris someday and when he did, it would be the end of one of the greatest streaks in tennis history. It wasn’t just his four straight wins, Bjorn Borg did that. And both Borg and Roger Federer have won five straight Wimbledon titles. It was the fact that Raffa Nadal had never lost in Paris. This doesn’t happen in tennis or any other sport. You don’t simply show up for your first major championship and win it. Then win it a second, third and fourth time. Let me repeat, what Rafael Nadal did had never happened before in tennis history.
I spent most of my life in tennis. I was a professional player, major college coach and have been a devotee of the game for almost fifty years. When I say Rafael Nadal is the greatest clay court player ever, I am not exaggerating. His streak in Paris alone would convince any casual watcher.
That’s one of my problems. I have never had any regard for fans. The only thing they contribute to the sporting process is determining how much athletes get paid. Other than that they’re fickle and spoiled and generally possess no understanding of the process they’re watching. I have never cared about their opinions, so it was ironic that I became a TV sportscaster. What the hell, we all need an angle. My TV persona was the guy who understood the sporting process better.
There is a higher lesson, even bigger than the enormity of Nadal’s historic loss. It’s so obvious, really. Nadal didn’t lose in Paris; he was beaten by a guy whose name I haven’t even mentioned yet. Robin Soderling of Sweden is by any definition a journeyman tennis pro. They’ll write about him that he was the lowly 23rd seed when he made history. In fact, Soderling is a wonderful player. He has a huge serve, giant ground strokes and he’s at his best on clay. Most of all, he’s one of the top 25 tennis players on the planet and that’s the lesson most fans will miss.
These guys are all great. Raffa Nadal wouldn’t just lose on clay; he’d have to be beaten by another great player. In this case he was beaten by a guy who will never be more than a trivia question in sports, and that’s the shame. Robin Soderlings live in every sport and they’re all great and we simply ignore them.
There are more than 1,000 tennis players with international computer rankings and yet only the top hundred or so are even invited to play in Paris. It’s the same thing in golf, where in a couple of weeks thousands will be whittled down to a hundred plus who will compete in the US Open on Long Island. Every golfer who even qualifies is a wonderful player and the ones who make the cut are all great. Even the guy who finishes last in the Open devoted his life to get that far in his sport and plays it at a level the average fan can’t begin to appreciate.
Fans will talk for years about how Nadal lost to a nobody. It will simply prove that they will never comprehend just how good all of these players really are. The #23 really can beat the #1 on any given day. It’s ironic, because understanding just how good they all are puts you even more in awe of Nadal’s streak. One of the great runs in sports history is over, but most people will miss the real lesson by a mile.
Corbett
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