Rafael Nadal last match: The Spaniard says farewell at the Davis Cup in Malaga, officially ending the great rivalry with Roger Federer
It was all magical. And it’s all over now. Rafael Nadal has bid farewell after losing in the Davis Cup at home in Spain. I’m so sad. Fed’s gone, and now Rafa’s gone, and they ain’t ever coming back.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were the best. The absolute best. A better rivalry than Bjorn Borg versus John McEnroe. Better than Novak Djokovic versus the world. Better than Lleyton Hewitt versus every man and his dog from Argentina. Better than Chris Evert versus Martina Navratilova. Better than every other tennis rivalry put together.
I feel sad. It’s over. I don’t know why I didn’t feel sad before now. Federer called it quits two years ago. Nadal has been an injury crock for about three years. They hadn’t gone head-to-head in five years. But watching Nadal, totally cooked as an athlete, dodgy knees, ankles, feet and shoulder, bowing out Titanic-like when Spain lost Wednesday’s Davis Cup quarter-final to the Netherlands … slowly going under … somehow it only strikes me now, as I weep into my laptop and feel a bit crook in the guts, that tennis’s greatest era, the Federer/Nadal era, is officially over.
Somebody tell ‘em how great they were. It’s been magical. Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier always seemed the most blazingly great and intense sporting rivalry but I’d take a seat at the 2008 Wimbledon final over the Thrilla in Manilla. Spare me personal hatred. Ali’s verbal assaults on the unassuming Frazier were unfair and vicious. Ali wanted to be a voice for African-Americans while objecting to the Vietnam War; Frazier just wanted a quiet, uncomplicated existence. Ali relentlessly hounded him about his looks and lack of intelligence and unworthiness as a black man. It was bloody awful, really, and haunted Frazier until the day he died.
I’m not just fightin’ one man,” Ali once said. “My mission is to bring freedom to 30 million black people. Frazier has no cause. He’s in it for the money alone … he’s the other type of Negro. That’s what I mean when I say Uncle Tom … he works for the enemy.” Ali apologised when it was all too late. He, too, died with rifts unhealed.
Federer and Nadal were completely different beasts. They fought like fury in matches, poet versus prize-fighter, and Nadal got the better of their head-to-head, 24-16, and he claimed 22 majors to Federer’s 20, and their skill levels were unrivalled until Djokovic came along, but the appeal ran deeper and lighter. Their play-hard-but-fair decency and mutual respect brought joy. And, friends, isn’t that the whole point of sport? At the end of the day, isn’t all this meant to bring joy? They giggled together like little boys and found a way to become mates and that was part of the beauty. I’d still have all-time greats as 1. Federer. 2. Nadal. 3. Laver. 4. Djokovic.
Federer and Nadal had one run-in. At Rome in 2006, when Federer was first realising the young Spanish bull really was a handful. He thought Toni Nadal was blatantly guilty of coaching Rafa from courtside. He was livid and wanted the ATP to punish the Nadals. A few days later, Federer and Nadal crossed paths at an awards ceremony and talked it through. They were never at loggerheads again. When Nadal broke Federer’s heart by winning the 2008 final at The All England Club, the greatest tennis match ever played, he delayed returning to the locker room until Federer was gone. He didn’t want to celebrate too much in front of him. And it pained him to see Federer’s hurt.
Where did the last two decades go? An unforgettable career ended in forgettable fashion. Nadal lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in Spain’s opening singles. It was Nadal’s first Cup singles defeat in 20 years. The Dutch won the tie 2-1 and the weak-kneed, glassy-eyed Nadal was saying adios. Did the 38-year-old play too long? Probably. You could have stuck a fork in him when he lost to Jordan Thompson at Brisbane in January. And yet I reckon going out on top is overrated. Better to be dragged out by the ankles. Better to play till your last breath. Nadal has run the full race.
“The truth is that you never want to get to this point,” he said. “I’m not tired of playing tennis but my body doesn’t want to play anymore and you have to accept that. I feel super privileged. I’ve been able to make my hobby my profession for a long time. I also remember my family, my team. You’ve been an unforgettable part of my life for all these years. It’s in some ways good. I lost my first match in the Davis Cup and I lost my last one. So we close the circle. It’s been an emotional day.”
Next? He’s shy. He’ll be feted here and there but he’ll basically spend the rest of his life fishing and playing golf at home at Majorca.
“I had my uncle who was a tennis coach in my village when I was a small kid,” he said. “Just a kid that followed their dreams, worked as hard as possible to be where I am today. At the end of the day, being honest, a lot of people work hard, a lot of people try their best every day. But I am one of those who is lucky to have had the life I have had. The way I would like to be remembered is as a good person from a small village in Mallorca.”
A memory? The roar for Nadal and Federer at the 2012 Australian Open. It was such a truly joyful, deafening, heartfelt, thanks-for-being-here, we-love-you, go-get-‘em, you-blokes-are-the-best-things-since-sliced-bread ovation that I remember rising from my work seat and dancing on my toes and wrapping an arm around a mate and saying, this is going to be good! Such wild applause … and they hadn’t played a point yet. The masses were going bonkers because Nadal and Federer had simply stepped on the court. They might have grabbed a microphone and sung a duet. Nadal, the Spanish prize-fighter, won in four sets. Federer, the Swiss poet, applauded the victor before bowing his head and departing.
All magical, all over now. I’m so sad. Rafa’s gone and Fed’s gone and they ain’t ever coming back. Federer wrote a beautiful 584-world letter to his mate that Elon Musk was kind enough to publish on Twitter. Or X. Or whatever it’s called these days.
“As you get ready to graduate from tennis, I’ve got a few things to share before I maybe get emotional,” Federer wrote. “Let’s start with the obvious: you beat me — a lot. More than I managed to beat you. You challenged me in ways no one else could. On clay, it felt like I was stepping into your backyard, and you made me work harder than I ever thought I could just to hold my ground … I’m not a very superstitious person but you took it to the next level.”
He added: “Your whole process. All those rituals. Assembling your water bottles like toy soldiers in formation, fixing your hair, adjusting your underwear … All of it with the highest intensity. Secretly, I kind of loved the whole thing. Because it was so unique — it was so you. And you know what, Rafa, you made me enjoy the game even more. OK, maybe not at first.”
Nadal thumped Federer 6-3, 6-3 in their initial meeting at the 2004 Miami Masters. Federer won their last clash in four sets in the 2019 Wimbledon semi-finals.
“After the 2004 Australian Open, I achieved the #1 ranking for the first time,” Federer wrote. “I thought I was on top of the world. And I was — until two months later, when you walked on the court in Miami in your red sleeveless shirt, showing off those biceps, and you beat me convincingly. All that buzz I’d been hearing about you — about this amazing young player from Mallorca, a generational talent, probably going to win a major someday — it wasn’t just hype. We were both at the start of our journey and it’s one we ended up taking together. Twenty years later, Rafa, I have to say: What an incredible run you’ve had. Including 14 French Opens — historic! You made Spain proud … you made the whole tennis world proud.“
I’m sad. Fed’s gone. Rafa’s gone. The best. The best. Federer retired after playing doubles with Nadal at the 2022 Laver Cup. “Always cracking each other up,” he wrote of their friendship. “Wearing each other out on the court and then, sometimes, almost literally having to hold each other up during trophy ceremonies. My final match. It meant everything to me that you were there by my side — not as my rival but as my doubles partner,“ Federer writes. ”Sharing the court with you that night, and sharing those tears, will forever be one of the most special moments of my career … and I want you to know that your old friend is always cheering for you, and will be cheering just as loud for everything you do next. Rafa that!“
Roger that, too. He signed his letter to Nadal, “Best always, your fan, Roger.”
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