For whatever reason, Rafael Nadal hasn’t fared as well in the Australian Open as in the sport’s other major championships. True, he boasts of a career Grand Slam, as definitive an indication as any of his outstanding brand of tennis. On the other hand, there’s a reason he has gone all the way only once at Melbourne Park, with his 1-4 slate in the final including a straight-sets shellacking at the hands of reigning king Novak Djokovic last year. The hard courts have invariably seemed too fast and too conducive to short points that don’t play to his strengths.
This year, however, looked to be different for Nadal — at least at the outset. Among other things, the Plexicushion surface appeared to make for slower balls, enabling relentless strikers like him to keep rallies going. More importantly, he was motivated and in fine form; he made short work of Hugo Dellien, Federico Delbonis, and Pablo Carreno Abistado before outlasting crowd favorite Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round. Which was why few pegged him for an early vacation despite a tough Round of 16 draw in Dominic Thiem.
Creditably, Nadal did prove ready and able in his quarterfinal-round set-to the other day. Considering how he competed, there was little to complain about; three of the four sets in the match had to be decided by tiebreaks. As things turned out, though, not a single one of them went his way. If only for a day, if only for a contest, Thiem got the better of him. In fact, his opponent got to be a superior him — refusing to lose, relentlessly defending, and, at the precise moment, striking, and hard. There was simply nothing he could do better. To be more precise, there was simply nothing he could do.
Nadal was gracious in the aftermath. Even as he failed to hide his disappointment, he conceded Thiem’s well-deserved time in the spotlight. To be sure, the figures bear him out; he wound up on the wrong end of the score 24 out of the 36 times a point lasted nine shots or more. Through four hours and 10 minutes of exquisite ballstriking, he gave his best; it simply wasn’t good enough. Which is why he can’t complain, and why he’s already looking forward to next year.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
