STOP PRESS

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Heart and mind

For me the term rational sports fan is a bit of an oxymoron. It’s always been an emotional roller coaster and this is a trait I must have inherited from my father’s gene pool. One of my vivid memories of my grandmother is of her watching cycling on tv, pumping her fist, shouting advice to one cyclist and cursing at another. One time, she was so angry with a Dutch cyclist that she made me promise to never ever set foot in a Dutch store. Her fury was impressive for a little girl, so all I managed in reaction was carefully nodding while disagreeing in silence. Her son, my father, tried to hide his emotions more and pretend that he was all rational without any favoritism or bias. That was just bravado because his body language told a different story: from the moment things got tense, he clenched his fists and he started to twitch in his sofa, restless,...

I’m more like my grandmother, not even trying to hide where I’m placing my emotional investment. Being a John McEnroe fan, one of the most agonizing matches was his Roland Garros final against Ivan Lendl in 1984. Don’t remind me of the result of the match because I don’t want to hear it. Ivan didn’t win that final, okay? Great. Let’s move on.

Afterwards, I felt like I had been on court with them, pacing between the kitchen and the living room, literally hiding behind the sofa when I couldn’t stand it any longer to jump up again when I heard a roar from the public. Isn’t it amazing how we can get so involved in a match…two mature grown-up men, hitting a little ball back and forth.
...and don't start with the "McEnroe? Mature? You must have blacked out his tantrums." I've heard it all before.

When John retired, I promised myself to no longer invest so much in a tennis player. From now on, I would watch the sport as a rational, keen observer, unbiased, balanced, calm, zen,...

Yeah, right.

Enter Rafael Nadal.

Who was I kidding anyway?

Being a fan, you can’t help but being defensive even when you know how silly it is. It’s part of the charm of sport, getting totally wrapped up in a physical and mental battle, watching athletes conquer their opponents and sometimes, their own limitations. Watching sport is a constant struggle between heart and mind, trying to find the right sort of balance. You can’t love the sport without a strong heart but your heart is lost without a good mind.

So, together with a growing group of admirers and supporters, I watched Rafael, point by point, match by match, season after season, through the ups and downs.

Back in 2005, the criticism often heard was: he’s a claycourter, a dirtballer, they burn out quickly. Watch him fade away in 2006. My protest that this is not a given and that Rafael vowed to improve and conquer the other surfaces was ignored and labeled by many as naive.

They said that claycourt tennis is a physical game. My reply, that a match between two excellent experts of the clay court surface is a bit like watching chess on a big scale, was brushed aside. It’s just a matter of who can chase the most balls, they said.

Let me step off my fan-soapbox and let others do the talking, starting with one of my other tennis heroes, the Aussie Hewitt:

Lleyton Hewitt:
"He is carved from a very special kind of wood. He is on the threshold of a great career. And he's a nice guy, he really is."
(January 2005, Australian Open)

Carlos Costa:
“They have not only educated him to be a mature tennis player but also to be a mature person."
(June 2005, talking about Rafa’s family)

Chris Bradman:
“He has a 20 year old head with a 30 plus year old mind."
(Wimbledon 2006, commentator Bradman on Nadal during his match against Nieminen)

Jim Courier:
I don't see him as a guy who's weak mentally. He's trying to become a better player, which should be his priority. What you're seeing is an adjustment in all areas. He's gone from being a young hope to being one of the premier sportsmen in his country and the world. He's got a lot on his plate and I think he's doing a very nice job of dealing with it.
(Indian Wells 2007, Jim talking about the much debated “slump” after Wimbledon 2006)

Sebastian Fest:
When he talks, he shows that the best part of his tennis is in his brain. He has a very powerful mind, and he thinks about everything he says. He's very intuitive.
(April 2007, taken from Bonnie DeSimone's column on ESPN.com, Sebastian Fest is a Madrid-based writer for the international news agency DPA)

Brad Gilbert:
“You know who’s a great thinker out there? Rafael Nadal. That guy’s got a swollen head. Allen Fox would love him. The kid's so smart for his age I don't even know how his brain fits in his head.
(August 2005, Tennis Week – Allen Fox is a former coach.)

John McEnroe:
Nadal has incredible hands: he can make adjustments at the last moment to change the trajectory and to surprise the opponent.
(11 June, 2006)

Mats Wilander:
“He's maybe the smartest player out there today."
(RG 2006, in an interview after the final, http://www.matswilander.com )

Abigail Lorge, quoting a journalist who speaks fluent Spanish:
Nadal is "impressive" in his native tongue -- thoughtful, serious, articulate
(February 2009)

Rafa,
Stay humble
Keep believing in yourself
Above all: keep loving what you do.