On Monday, Alexander Zverev asserted his favorite status and claimed victory in an atypical clash against Rafael in the first round of Roland Garros. I saw my nephew initially somewhat overwhelmed, showing a lot of accumulated tension or, perhaps, the bitter memory of his last match in Rome, where a few days ago he saw himself clearly surpassed by his opponent.
He entered the first set with more doubts than normal and was unable to play with his usual intensity. As a spectator, I missed, especially in this first partial, some of his characteristic gestures that, without a doubt, would have helped him dispel his nerves. From the second set the situation changed, we saw him reverse more times with his forehand and increase the speed with each blow. He gave us the feeling that victory was possible by scoring a favorable 5-4, but the German deployed his best shots at this key moment, causing the tie break and he got an income that gave him wings and was an insurmountable mountain for my nephew, who lost third place, too, and with that he was eliminated from the most important tournament for him.
Amélie Mauresmo came down to the court, aware she and the entire audience that this was a situation that required a few words from Rafael. Visibly moved by the immense support of a public that had not stopped chanting his name and cheering him on tirelessly throughout the match, he was grateful for how loved he felt on the stage where since he was a child he dreamed of being crowned champion and where, far from what which he had never dreamed of, he achieved it fourteen times.
And yet, it did not clear up the doubts of all the spectators present there, and those who followed him from many corners of the world. We were left without knowing whether or not we had attended his last match at Roland Garros as, on the other hand, I believe, he should not know for sure either. Without a doubt, there are many things you need to take into consideration before saying the last word.
Rafael is aware of the inexorable passage of time and how complicated the task is of seeing himself with the possibility of winning old titles, but he has also seen how after two years of various physical problems, a complicated hip operation, less than fifteen matches in two seasons and without any inertia to face the gravel season, his level has not been very far from that of one of the best players on the circuit. He did make it clear to us that his next big goal is the Paris Games, an event for which he must look forward to arriving in healthy conditions. I think that the result in them and in possible future tournaments will help him finish removing the leaves.
I lived with him for many years, both in his training phase and during a large part of his journey through high competition, and I have always seen him display an unwavering faith in his strength and the desire to cling to any small point of light that could glimpse. It’s simply what he continues to do now.
A retirement in the world of tennis entails a difficulty from which something else can be freed, for example, soccer players. Leo Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, to talk about two recent cases, after having played for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid can continue to kill their competitive bug and do what they have loved all their lives by competing in lower leagues. This allows them a diminuendo more bearable than what it means for a tennis player to have to abandon everything overnight. Sometimes people are not aware of the difficulty involved in making the decision to stop doing what you have been doing practically all your life, what has fulfilled you, what you have been passionate about and what you continue to love almost as if it were the first day. .
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