Rafa Nadal is an icon. The winner of 22 Grand Slams. The king of the earth. The musketeer of Roland Garros. The boy from Manacor. The pride of a country. Claw. The overcoming. The resilience. Living history of tennis. For many the best ever. It is so much so that his position in the ranking or his balance of victories and losses no longer matters. The mere presence of him on a court, at 37 years old, is already cause for celebration for the sport of racket. A gift that this Tuesday the public of the Conde de Godó Trophy enjoyed.
After three months of absence, suffering from his constant physical problems, the Mallorcan reappeared at the RCTB-1899, his second home. The centenary club was in luck to receive, after three years of absence, its best reference. It was noticeable in the atmosphere, with the Balearic audience on the center court, which precisely bears the name of the 12-time winner of the Barcelona tournament. More than a tennis match it was a welcome. A thank you for everything. Each important point was applauded as if it were the last. And also, he beat Flavio Cobolli in his debut (6-2 and 6-3). “He was nervous about how he was going to be. I used to get nervous when he won, imagine how he was today. But that’s the beauty of sport, the emotion,” said Nadal after his victory, who in the second round will have to raise the level against Alex De Miñaur, world number 11.
You could almost hear the doubts running through the heads of the spectators. Will it be the same as before? How will your physique be? Could it be his last game in Barcelona? The first response was inactivity.
Nadal started cold, with an error and a double fault. The lack of filming was noticeable. He still didn’t have the measurements of his court and the balls were too long for him. He corrected it with experience and got it out of him. The sensations began to arise in the Balearic Islands when the fourth game was completed. A drop gave way to the first “let’s go!” Confidence was beginning to show in Nadal’s racket. Nerves gave way to his enormous resources on the court and in a climb to the net, one of the few in the match, he achieved the first break due to a mistake by Cobolli.
Nadal took off and the Italian was another guest at the party. The young Florentine was too erratic in his debut at the Godó, easy prey for any version of the Balearic. On his next serve, Cobolli saved four breaking points thanks to his serve, two of them with an ace. But in the eighth game he succumbed again. Nadal, who grew with each point, encouraged by the respectability, took out part of his repertoire to close the set. An exchange of carats, a deep crossed backhand to the line and his classic Numantine defense were the epilogue of the initial sleeve.
In the first game of the second set Nadal had to save his first break point. He solved the problem with a spectacular drop shot and linked the moment by breaking the transalpine’s service. The match was on track, but then Nadal noticed the weight of so many setbacks, of so many months away from tennis. His legs became heavy and his arm stiffened for a moment. A double fault and a backhand error made him give up his serve. Cobolli was still alive.
It was time to review the booklet for the Mallorcan, to once again remember the virtues of his tennis. No sooner said than done. The giant from Manacor began to move a Cobolli with a short fuse, too impatient for a match on clay, who gave up serve again. The Italian was overcome with desperation, which contrasted with the effusive celebrations of a Nadal who at times recalled his best times. The player who clings to the baseline is back. The one with the left hand that draws implausible parabolas and angles. The one with the impossible points. The idol of the fans.
Nadal no longer let his serve slip away, now floating on the clay of Pedralbes, enjoying his return. He felt like a player again, finally. And there he was again, in the center of the court celebrating the victory as if more than 20 years and a thousand battles had not passed since his debut at the Godó. “This tournament is special. I have lived here a lot in my career. It is a feeling that is difficult to explain, of joy,” concluded Nadal who enjoyed again on his court, in his tennis home.
