ABOUT THE CHAMP10N

Whole sports world erupted with the joy, large banners of number 10 and BRAVO RAFA were fluttering in the crowds, as Rafael Nadal Hoisted the very familiar trophy over his head for 10th time in last 13 years. Winning same Grand Slam for 10th time is something no one has ever achieved in an Open era. Tears rolled down his eyes when Spanish National anthem was being played for the 10th time in Court Philippe Chatrier for him. The journey from winning the title for the first time to winning it tenth time, flashed in those tears. But what is so special about winning a tournament 10 times? Why are not just tennis players but other sports persons are praising Rafa so much?


Pic Courtesy: Roland Garros, Clicked by: Corinne Dubreuil

 So the answer to this question is really easy. Winning the a single Grand Slam 10 times is nothing but unreal. Taking tally of wins in double digits means you played that tournament at least 10 times, for at least 10 years.There are grate players in tennis who could not win total of 10 grand slams in their whole career. Winning a same tournament 10 times in that sport is something no one ever imagined. And Nadal did this magic in 3 tournaments, in past month. Achieving La Decima, first in Monte Carlo, then in Barcelona and now at Roland Garros. In Andy Roddick’s words, it is NOT normal. Not just in tennis but in any sport, specially in such a short span of time.
Year 2005, a teenager from Spain was playing for the first time on the Paris soil. He was seeded 4th after his magnificent performance in ATP events. But winning ATP tournament is different than winning a Grand Slam. Against the all odds the teenager won French Open in his very 1st attempt. Yes, that teenager was non other than Rafael Nadal. World praised him then too. Why? Simply because it is a Grand Slam that had proved most difficult of all to win. Clay is not the surface everyone can adapt. The climatic conditions changing constantly, from high heat to rain to cold winds of high speed. It is not everyone's cup of tea to win here. There are grate Champions of tennis who could not conquer the Paris. But the boy of merely 19 won it effortlessly.
The journey from that 1st to Sunday’s 10th can be described as nothing but incredible. We saw him successfully defending his French crown in 2006, but the year was full of challenges for Rafa, that no one saw. Immediately after returning home crisis struck. He was diagnosed with very rare foot disease. The French Champion was unable to stand on his feet, let go playing Tennis. But Rafa is not a guy who would be convinced to be remembered (and forgotten) as “One Grand Slam Wonder”. He is fighting this career threatening injury till date, while creating loads of record. Winning not only on clay but on other surfaces. Battling against various injuries throughout his career, he holds 15 Grand Slams, including every slam in tennis and Olympic Golds as well. This shows what kind of fighter he is. There are many words that perfectly describe Rafa Nadal. The image below is proof.


Pic Courtesy: Troll Tennis

In Sunday’s battle Rafa gave hardly any chance to Stan to win a match. It was hard to believe the person playing is 31 years old. With this year’s clay season Rafa proved again why he is given the tittle “CLAY KING”. After winning the match, the King reclaimed his Throne and his Crown of French Champion after 2014. Reuniting with Coupe des Mousquetaires after the gap of 2 long years, was the moment he was waiting for. The joy on his face cannot be described in the words. Some images speak louder than the words and this image shows what it means to the Champion.
Pic Courtesy: Roland Garros

To know about his unbelievable stats on clay, we will need another article. The records are meant to be broken, but these records will prove very hard to beat. To get past his records someone will need to be a clay expert of grater powers. Next year when KING comes back to his Kingdom, he will find his statue at Roland Garros. There were two sentences before Sunday’s final. Rafael Nadal has never lost a French Open final. And Stan Wawrinka has never lost Grand Slam final. After the match, latter is changed forever. But it’s a Herculean task even for Tennis God to change the first.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

KNOW THE BLUES

Image
T he countdown has began for the most prestigious tournament in the world. Although it’s for boys of age Under 17, it’s a World Cup anyway. India is taking part in the Football world cup for very first time. In few hours time our boys in blue will be moving on the field to show their talent. Whole world has very high exceptions from the hosts. Before they start their 1st match, we must know about the guys representing us at such a high level. THE SQUAD:  The Captain AMARJIT SINGH KIYAM (Midfielder and Captain): The 16 years old guy was elected as a captain by everyone except himself. Such a selfless guy is a leader that we need. An excellent and hard working midfielder has a quality of making sure that his pass will be easily converted to the goal.  KOMAL THATAL(Midfielder):  A guy of 17 has some skills that are rarely seen in a player of his age. He is currently highest goal scorer of Indian side. Scoring against the Brazil must have increased his confid...
Read more

FOOTBALL, WELCOME TO INDIA

Image
F ootball, a sport that is played with maximum madness. A sport that is an emotion at entire different level. This awesome sport has arrived in India. No, we are not speaking about playing football but hosting an important event. India has never been at the centre stage in Football but now the time is changing. India has been chosen to organise the event of international importance for the very 1 st time. After the successful seasons of Indian Super League, India is all set to host Under 17 Football World Cup, 2017. So, it’s a perfect time to say, Football, welcome to India. The brilliant performance by Indian Skipper, Sunil Chhetri, successfully caught the attention of all Indians. This helped in turning eyes of whole world to India as well. Which is just in time for Indian Football. All the attention and support that is needed for Football in a sports loving country like India is being provided and there is no shred of doubt that this event is going to be a successful o...
Read more

THE FEDAL YEAR

Image
S ometimes we experience real joy when we turn back pages of a book just to read our most favourite part. That’s what exactly happened when Two most loved tennis legends came back to their top game. Last year tennis fans would have given away anything to watch their favourite players at the top, this year we got it. The comeback from injury breaks proved just like a fairytale for both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. 2017 is the year when both Federer and Nadal won two Grand Slams each out of all four, dividing it in perfect 50-50. As this has never happened before, fans all over, are calling it “FEDAL SLAM”. But not just slams, the whole year has a mark of Fedal over it. That’s the reason, for the Tennis, it’s a FEDAL YEAR. Since the very start of the year, both players gave us the glimpse of their return and how fabulous year fans will have ahead. In the very first Grand slam of the year, Australian open we were treated with the final between two giants. They had played las...
Read more