It was an eventful night at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, when Rafael Nadal took on Luxembourg native and world No.45 Gilles Muller.
Battling powerful winds whipping the ball well off course, the two slogged it out for two hours and eleven minutes, until Nadal finally emerged the victor in three dramatic sets.
The tension could be cut with a knife as the momentum switched back and forth, and when Nadal finally won, the elation from the crowd bordered on manic. Their favourite had passed a stern test in spectacular fashion, his legendary forehand once more a weapon of mass destruction.
To the non-partisan observers, this was simply an extraordinarily exciting match between a great champion and a determined challenger. They would have expected Goliath to win, regardless of the obstacles. However, those who follow Nadal’s career were somewhat nervous. This was no ordinary opponent, and no ordinary situation.
Gilles Muller, although ranked 40 places below Nadal, has a colossal serve, powerful ground strokes, and favours playing at the net. As such, he is every baseliner’s worst nightmare. He provides no rhythm, cuts short the long rallies baseliners usually to win, and against a player like Nadal (the ultimate baseliner), he has nothing to lose. Add to that the fact Rafa has struggled with confidence of late, and has recently lost to lower ranked players more times than he’d care to remember, it’s no wonder his fans were worried.
After clinching the first set 6-2, Rafa aficionados breathed a sigh of relief. However, tricky conditions and Muller upping his game cost the Spaniard the second set, at 2-6. Ordinarily, we would roll our eyes, dismiss set two as simply a lapse in concentration, and eagerly await Rafa’s eventual victory in the third.
But not this time. For three consecutive tournaments (the Australian Open, Buenos Aires, and Rio), Nadal had exited the competition after matches that went to a deciding set. That’s three consecutive reminders of Rafa being defeated by his own anxiety. As such, every Nadal admirer’s blood suddenly ran cold.
The reality of the situation set in. Rafa was playing at night, which does not suit him. The wind was so strong it could be heard howling through the courtside microphones; an advantage for those who favour the net, rather than the baseline. And Muller, as the underdog, had license to play without fear. Although nobody wanted to admit it, this was a match Rafa could definitely lose. Another early dismissal, another blow to his already fragile confidence.
The interesting thing about Nadal is although he physically hides his frustrations and fears on court, you can read the match through his eyes. There is a particular look that haunts his face when he loses his nerve; a furrowing of the brow and tightening of the mouth. It was the look he threw Fernando Verdasco in the fifth set of their Australian Open showdown, and was on display many times in 2015.
But this time, his face was calm, his eyes alight with concentration. Rather than fearing a loss, he was relishing the battle for a win.
After playing some excellent service games, the moment of truth came at three all. Rafa faced two break points. The crowd held its breath. Not only did Rafa’s place in the tournament hang in the balance, his international reputation was once more on the line. Would Goliath cave to David? A month ago, probably. But now, absolutely not.
Rafa took the situation by the scruff of the neck, vanquished the two break points, and celebrated his hold of serve with a roar and an emphatic fist pump. From then on, he rolled through the match, breaking for the victory with an improvised cross court backhand in response to a gargantuan serve by Muller.
However, it wasn’t just the win that was encouraging, it was how he got there. We once more saw that killer instinct and relentless fighting spirit so characteristic of his earlier career, which has been missing for far too long.
Refusing to give in, he defied everything the tennis gods threw at him, and celebrated with his familiar (but recently absent) jumping-scissor-kick-fist-pump. His cry of, ‘Vamos!’ echoed around the stadium. The ecstatic crowd roared with the Spaniard; a collective primal scream of delight at the restoring of the natural order. And Nadal-istas around the world breathed an enormous sigh of relief.
Although it was only the second round, it was as if Rafa had won the tournament. The warrior had returned. His demons were conquered, and the losing streak broken.
What happens in his next match against friend and foe Verdasco remains to be seen. However, what should be at the forefront of our minds is the return of the fighter who refuses to succumb no matter the odds. Above everything else, that’s what I’m celebrating.
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