Daniil Medvedev may appear to be the future of men’s professional tennis once Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal leave the game, but right now Nadal looks far from ready to drop out of sight.
He almost looks like the “Rafa Of Old.” Except with a better serve and a little less hair.
Yes, even should Rafa fail to defeat Medvedev Sunday night in Melbourne, Nadal still might have a few more Grand Slam successes before he steps down.
Although Nadal might not be favored to win Sunday’s Australian Open men’s singles final, the Spanish great almost certainly will be the crowd favorite.
RAFA’S LOVE FOR THE GAME
Of course, Nadal would cherish a second Australian Open title if one happens to fall his way, but Rafa appears to genuinely love the game most of all. Winning just makes it more special to him.
Two of the other guys in the late rounds appeared to be taking things a little too seriously. The chair umpires caught blunt verbal attacks from them.
There was nothing nice to be said of Denis Shapovalov’s criticism of the chair umpire in the Canadian’s quarterfinal loss to Nadal. And Medvedev demonstrated really bad manners in his vocal harassment of the chair umpire during his win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals.
Too bad everyone on the tour isn’t as classy as Nadal.
WHAT KEEPS NADAL PLAYING THE TOUR
Why does Nadal keep punishing himself around the world in extreme weather conditions at 35 years old? He simply loves the game and its competition.
“At the end of the day, life is about happiness and what makes us happy,” Nadal said on Instagram after his semifinal win over Matteo Berrettini. “For me it’s also about having the chance to do what I do, play tennis.
“I feel alive in terms of my tennis life, of my tennis career and I am super happy to be again in the final of the Australian Open. I’m happy that I’m gonna have a chance.”
That’s Rafa Nadal. He makes me proud that my little dachshund is named Rafa.
JOHN MCENROE: NADAL A HUMBLE SUPERSTAR
As none other than the great John McEnroe put it on ESPN before the start of Nadal’s match against Berrettini:: “Rafa Nadal is the classiest, perhaps most humble superstar champion of anyone in the history of any sport.”
It’s nothing like the heyday of McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Ilie Nastase.
Many years ago (1976, to be exact) I covered the Pepsi Grand Slam of Tennis at Myrtle Beach, S.C. The event had four Grand Slam champions, Connors, Arthur Ashe, Manuel Orantes and Ilie Nastase. It wasn’t a big formal event or anything, just a small exhibition with big stars. The players walked around the grounds like everyone else.
A DAY TO REMEMBER AT MYRTLE BEACH
I’ll never forget walking up to Connors near the press tent to get a quote that summer day in Myrtle Beach. Boy, did he rudely avoid me. Later in the press tent, Connors was joking around with the original bad boy of tennis, Nastase. They weren’t exactly using nice words.
I was a big fan of Connors, having watched a couple years earlier on black and white TV as Connors took men’s tennis by storm in winning three of the four Grand Slam titles in 1974. He wasn’t allowed to play the French Open in 1974. Orantes defeated Connors in the 1975 U.S. Open final, while Ashe owned U.S. Open, Wimbledon and Australian titles, and Nastase captured French Open and U.S. Open crowns.
NICE GUYS: NADAL AND ASHE
A few years later, McEnroe was in Myrtle Beach for an exhibition, and we sat down and had a great interview. Yes, even John McEnroe could be a nice guy.
The 1970s and 1980s were the days of exhibitions when great champions traveled to then out of the way cities to put on exhibitions. Such was the case of Ashe coming to Charleston for a free exhibition match watched by only a handful of fans.
When I think about Ashe during his visit, I remember him as another classy individual, always a gentleman, polite and humble. Nadal reminds me of Ashe.
Nadal will have his hands full in this Australian Open final, but luck might follow a true champion of tennis.
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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award as the tennis columnist for the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier newspapers. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.
