Paris, May 27: They travelled from all over – from Europe and Oceania, from North America and South America – to be at Roland Garros on Monday, intent on watching Rafael Nadal play what might be his last French Open match this year. Or ever.
Nadal, who has won 14 of his 22 Grand Slam trophies in Paris, was scheduled to play on Day 2 of the tournament in Court Philippe Chatrier against No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev, and tennis fans wanted to be present for what felt like a monumental occasion.
They were there to see Nadal compete, of course, but also to salute him as a player and person, to congratulate him on a remarkable career and, perhaps, to catch one final glimpse of his greatness at a tournament that has helped define his legacy.
“He’s my favorite tennis player. Maybe when he retires, I will find someone new. But I don’t know if I will give that much love to the next one,” said Fiona Li, a 35-year-old who works in luxury fashion in the Netherlands. “His power is that he never gives up. He encourages me when I am really down. He fights until the last minute. That’s what we need in daily life. When you’re sad or something, you watch him play, and everything is solved.” Li, who said she’s been a Nadal fan since 2005, the year he won his first title at Roland Garros as a teenager, made sure to stop by the 3-meter-tall (about 10-feet-tall) statue of Nadal that was unveiled in 2021 and stands between one of the tournament’s main entrances and the 15,000-seat Chatrier stadium.
Wearing a makeshift tiara fashioned from four yellow tennis balls – each with a letter to spell out “Rafa” – Li posed for photos in front of the statue with three pals, one from Australia and two from China. Each member of the quartet wore a red T-shirt with a capital yellow letter from his first name. One held a red-and-yellow Spanish flag with “King of Roland Garros” stamped on it.”Vamos, Rafa!” they shouted in unison.
Nadal turns 38 on June 3 and had indicated, amid a series of injuries to his hip and an abdominal muscle, that he would be retiring at some point in 2024. When told by a reporter on Saturday that most folks are assuming this will be his French Open adieu, he smiled and said: “Don’t assume.”
So who knows what the future holds? The whole thing has a bit of the same vibe as at the 2022 U.S. Open, when the world was well aware that Serena Williams was participating in what would be her last event, and she was feted by enthusiastic crowds. (AP)
