After his opening match at Roland Garros this year, the No4 seed, nine-time champion, the undisputed master of clay, Rafael Nadal, was asked whether he has ever found his tennis life—and its many trials—boring, hard, tedious.
For a man who won his first title here as a teenager in 2005, and is aiming to become the first player in the Open era—and only the second ever, man or woman—to win 10 titles at a single Major, it is an understandable question.
For a man who has managed assorted injury problems over the years, to his knees in the early days, then last year to a wrist that took him off the tour in the middle of his Roland Garros campaign, it may also be an understandable question.
But one only has to look at the resolve, work-rate, and determination that this Spaniard has shown at every hurdle, every challenge, to know that his passion for his sport and life on the tour runs too deep for any such misgivings.
He put it thus after coming through his opening match, a potentially tricky encounter with Frenchman Benoit Paire.
“No, I feel that I’m a very lucky person to do what I’m doing. No, for me is not hard. In terms of physical issues, it is hard sometimes, yes. But I understand the word ‘hard’ means other things in the world. There are other jobs and other things in the world that are hard.
“No, I don’t get bored at all, of course. And as I say before, I feel always excited to do what I do and to have the chance at almost 31 years old to still be all around the world playing the tour.”
Nadal does indeed turn 31 at the weekend, by which time he is likely to have reached 75 match-wins at the French Open for just two losses. Likely, because he will not face a seed until at least the fourth round and, judging from his form this year, it is hard to see him losing to anyone but the three men ahead of him in the rankings: Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka.
Indeed, the only man who has given Nadal consistent problems since his return from that injury lay-off is Roger Federer—and the Swiss has bypassed the entire clay season.
Along the way, Nadal has stacked up his 10th Barcelona title, 10th Monte-Carlo title, and his fifth Madrid title, along with finals at the Australian Open, Acapulco and Miami. Little wonder that, after beginning the year at No9, he is back among fellow Grand Slam champions at the top of the ranks and leads the Race to London.
It would be fair to say that most of Nadal’s rivals over the years have grown used to the Spaniard bouncing back from injury as strong as he had been before. Three times he has held the No1 ranking, on each occasion for around a year, and with each interim period punctuated by injury.
After his last residence at No1 in 2014, it seemed as though maybe this time even Nadal could not bounce back. First he developed a wrist injury, then underwent an appendectomy, and 2015 proved to be a difficult season during which he grafted through the South American swing, piled on the matches, made earlier than expected exits, but determined to build up his confidence and a ranking that briefly slipped to No10.
It was all beginning to come together in 2016, with back-to-back Barcelona and Monte-Carlo titles—but then came that bolt from the blue at Roland Garros: withdrawal in the third round with more wrist problems.
On that day, one year ago, he still was not deterred.
“Now is a tough moment, but is not the end. I feel myself with the right motivation and the right energy to be back in Roland Garros the next couple of years, and I really hope to keep having my chances in the future.”
Sure enough, here he is again, and with the same pragmatic yet determined message.
“I don’t anticipate anything. I just try to do my thing. I try to work the right way, as I did all my career. Sometimes things work well. Sometimes things don’t work that well. That’s part of this world. That’s part of life, in general, and especially sport…
“I tell you one thing, no? I won here nine times, and every year that I won I was unbelievably happy, but every year that I came back, I was unbelievably nervous. Life changes? No. That’s important to know.”
And one thing that has not changed between winning that very first clay title in 2004, age just 17, and going for his 53rd clay title here, is that grounded attitude.
Nadal returns to his family and island home of Mallorca at every opportunity, and has been guided by uncle Toni throughout—though retirement is over the horizon for the man in the white cap. Now Nadal has turned for his support and ideas from another Mallorcan, fellow French Open champion, fellow former No1, Carlos Moya.
Will he, then, win that 10th title after the trials of last year? He did, as expected, have little trouble against the tall, 46-ranked Robin Haase, losing only eight games in a tidy hour and three-quarters. He next plays Nikoloz Basilashvili, ranked 63 and owner of just one win through the Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid and Rome sweep.
It is, in all honesty, hard to imagine any kind of upset for Nadal just yet—and not before the quarters, where Grigor Dimitrov may wait. The Bulgarian almost got the better of him at the Australian Open, but that was a hard court, and the rules change on clay.
Eventually in the semis, there may be Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, who has also overcome many of his own demons to sail through to the third round. But then Nadal beat the Serb for the first time in eight meetings in Madrid only last month. The previous victory? Right here, in the 2014 final.