The noise is there, even if the packed Philippe Chatrier is fully silent. After every point comes the applause, then the cheers, but when the game resumes, there seems to be this persisting buzz. Rafael Nadal calls it “the fly around the ear”.
The sound of this imaginary fly is deafening. The more you ask everyone not to think about the fly, the more they will end up thinking about the fly.
The fly means Rafa’s last dance, Rafa’s retirement.
AN EARLY FINAL
It’s been almost an hour since he has been playing against Novak Djokovic, an anticipated final that takes place in the second round of competition. In their astounding 60 games facing each other, they have never met at such an early stage of a tournament.
And perhaps there has never been such a difference between the two.
Djokovic took the first set 6-1 and is winning 4-0. And even if no-one wants to think on Rafa’s retirement, the more we see him struggle against Nole’s shots, the more it is there.
COMEBACK
But even against Nole, and against the fly, Nadal, the ageing warrior, emerges with a jaw-dropping point. And another. The people roars, driving him not to let it go, as they would do with underdogs. Then he feels it. A last effort. And he bounces back. Break, 1-4. 2-4. Break, 3-4. 4-4. And just when he could have been 5-4, he let the chance pass.
The out-of-focus Nole is quickly back in the game, sealing the final 6-4 and giving defying looks to the Rafa fans – basically everyone that wasn’t carrying a Serbian flag. This could be the last time they face each other. There’s a melancholic feeling for the battles of the past two decades. It’s emotional. But it’s not equal.
REALITY
The 37-year-old Djokovic is still at his prime. The 38-year-old Rafa is slowly coming back after the hip surgery one year ago. Their worlds are abysmally different. While Nole dreams with the only missing medal in his trophy cabinet, the Olympic gold, Rafa is trying to understand what he will do next. At least he saved himself from an even more painful Olympic farewell.
Nole admits he might have felt too comfortable after the 4-0. “And with a player with Rafa, only one point let go, and then he was suddenly 4-4, with all the fans cheering for him. Even if not in his best shape, I tried to make things for him very difficult,” admitted Djokovic. That’s why he played a wide range of different shots, trying not to get Rafa comfortable in his favourite surface.
DECISION
Knowing that it was likely that he would face Djokovic in the second round, Nadal could have announced that he would only concentrate on doubles, yet he sacrificed.
“I don’t have the legs of 15 years, and when I’m not sharp with the ball, well, there’s no chance against what’s probably the best tennis player of all-time. But that’s also easier to digest, a defeat like this, in which I had no chance. Perhaps my only chance was to be 5-4 after coming back in the second, and I also let it pass, so it’s not difficult to accept this,” said Rafa.
“But I’m also trying to adjust after the hip surgery, and it takes time, I’ve only played a handful tournaments since last year, it’s not much. If I would choose to retire, I would communicate it to all of you,” he said with an ironic gesture, after one question regarding his future.
THE FLY
“But the fact that day in, day out, the only question I’m getting is about the retirement, in the end, even if I don’t want to think about it, and I’m focused on this tournament, is like having a fly pestering in your ear,” he added.
“Physically speaking I had only suffered a small strain, not important. Right now my focus is the doubles with Carlos (Alcaraz), and believe me that in motivation and concentration, I won’t fail,” he concluded.
Maybe in the doubles he will manage to send the fly away for some days, and why not, end the Olympics with a medal and a quiet ear.
Credit: AIP
