VSit will reassure some. Sometimes the best stories start with a missed date. Entered by the small door, that of the invitations, in 2003 at Roland-Garros (The world of May 9, 2003), the Spanish player withdraws even before the start of the tournament: “Rafael Nadal, 16, the new Spanish darling on clay, injured his elbow during training and will be absent at Roland Garros”, announces the daily on May 27, 2003.
But the French will quickly get to know this left-hander: a year later, in the Davis Cup, the Spaniard deprives them of the final. “In Mallorcan, his name means Christmas and it is a real gift that he
offered to Spain. From the height of his 18 years, Rafael Nadal has described his country ”, writes Jean-Jacques Larrochelle, September 28, 2004, stars in his eyes: “Astonishing character, this sturdy fellow with the gypsy look and fiery gaze, who does everything with his right hand, except play tennis. ” What to get noticed: “Swiss world number one Roger Federer, whom he beat in April at the Miami tournament, predicts that Rafael Nadal will eventually take his place. “
A phenomenon of precocity
While waiting for the prophecy to come true, here he is, “18 years and 187 days”, Davis Cup for his country, a record. “Rafael Nadal is a phenomenon of precocity, emphasizes Élise Vincent on December 7, 2004. In 2001, he joined the restricted club of players who won a professional match before the age of 15. By 2003, he had become the second youngest member of the top 100 in the ATP ranking – after American Michael Chang – and also the second youngest to reach the third round at Wimbledon. ”
We will have to get used to superlatives. In 2005, first Roland-Garros, first victory: “Only the Swede Mats Wilander before him had won Roland-Garros in his first participation”, enthuses Jean-Jacques Larrochelle, who describes, on June 7, 2005, an all-powerful player: “Rafael Nadal capable of a volley out of the corner of his eye and back to the ball, Rafael Nadal capable, stretched like a cat, of transforming a delicate return into an incisive winning point, Rafael Nadal and his masked cushioning… The phenomenon at the beach attendant (…) can do everything. “
Record of consecutive victories on clay (The world of May 31, 2006), first to combine Roland-Garros and Wimbledon after Björn Borg (The world of July 8, 2008)… The story seems to be written in advance so much that the rare times he stumbles, the (beaten) earth seems to slip away under the feet of the commentators: “What seemed unthinkable other than as a vague working hypothesis, of those that we evoke without believing in it, to extend the field of possibilities, has happened. Rafael Nadal lost (6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6), Sunday, May 31, at Roland-Garros ”, wrote Pierre Jaxel-Truer, June 2, 2009.
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