Rafael Nadal- One of The Special Ones

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"A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?"
                 
                                                                    -Robert Browning
 
There are certain athletes that fall in to another category. There isn’t a name for it, but you just know it when you see them. 

While Danill Medvedev was winning his first Grand Slam at the US Open in 2021, Rafael Nadal was battling with the unforgiving reality that all athletes face- my body just won’t allow it anymore. He was questioning his return to the tour, let alone playing in the Australian Open. 

January 30th 2022 has left me speechless. 

The category Rafa is now in, or maybe he always was, is of those select few athletes that defy the physical and mental confines of a human being's ability. 

Tiger Woods couldn’t walk, but came back to win the Masters in 2019. Serena Williams won the 2017 Australian Open while she was pregnant. In 1974 Muhammad Ali, a 4-1 underdog, pulled off the “rope a dope” against a younger, stronger George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle. 

These moments in sports history leave the world questioning the very limitations of humanity   

What vaulted Rafa firmly in to this category was the manner in which he did it. Rafa’s fairytail run seemed finished two sets in to the final. May be for us mortals, but not for him. 

A comeback that I still can’t comprehend, he didn’t stop fighting. After being up 5-4 and 30-0 in the final set Medvedev won four straight points to even things up. The mental and physical toll of that break would deflate anyone….Almost anyone.

While this win may once again ignite the GOAT debate, anoint him as the sole owner of the first to 21 record, it really doesn’t matter. Let’s just enjoy that what we witnessed was not about the record, the GOAT or any of that. It was an athlete proving that we have no limits, we can achieve more; and a man’s reach MUST exceed his grasp.   

We are blessed to witness the career of such an athlete. He is one of the Special Ones. 




Picture Credit https://news.sky.com/story/rafael-nadal-wins-australian-open-to-become-most-successful-man-in-tennis-history-12528705

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