Is the writing on the wall for Rafael Nadal?

Spain’s Rafael Nadal reacts after a point against Belgium’s Steve Darcis during their men’s first round match on day one of the 2013 Wimbledon Championships

Rafael Nadal would have his own opinion on the popular saying about lightning never striking twice. Poor Nadal must be wondering as to what happened on the hallowed SW19 courts on the opening Monday when an inspired Steve Darcis, whose claim to fame previously was a first round victory over Tomas Berdych in the 2012 Olympics at the same venue, played some outstanding tennis to outwit and outclass the Mallorcan. The manner of defeat would definitely hurt Nadal considering that a straight set defeat at the hands of a so-called ‘journeyman’ might not be the best possible result.

My memory jogs back to the summer of 1994 when crowd favourite Steffi Graf was beaten in the first round at Wimbledon by Lori McNeil in straight sets, sending shock waves across the tennis fraternity. Though Nadal was seeded fifth in this year’s Wimbledon, I can’t help but think that yesterday’s loss was pretty much on the lines of Graf’s loss. Though Graf did bounce back from the loss to win a further seven Grand Slams, it needs to be seen if the marauder from Mallorca can emulate the illustrious German.

Here is why I think it is going to be difficult for the 12-time Grand Slam winner:

What transpired yesterday is one in a series of upsets that continue to happen especially in the men’s section. It just goes to show how tough and competitive the game has become. We may argue that these things are a one-off or the top seed had a bad day at the office, but the fact is that on any given day anyone can create a flutter or two emphasizing that the margin for error is next to zero. Andy Murray emphasized this point beautifully in his post match interview. Federer himself was two points from being shown the door at last year’s Wimbledon by Julian Benneteau in the third round and that would not have been the first time he would have been beaten by Julian had that happened. If that was about the unsung heroes, everyone’s already seen the remarkable consistency shown by Djokovic and Murray.

Tsonga is also showing promise and is regularly becoming a member of the last 8 and last 4 stages of Grand Slams. Berdych can be dangerous on his good days and I am not even mentioning Del Potro in this group. This is how hard it is going to be for Nadal.

Watching Nadal trying to run around his backhands in an effort to spare his left knee gave an indication that he is still struggling mentally and hence it will definitely take him some time to overcome the mental obstacle. We all know how exceptionally strong he is mentally and physically and has demonstrated that time and again, more so recently at Roland Garros. Despite being one of the fittest around in the men’s circuit today, it would take a Herculean effort from him to regain past glory. The gruelling ATP tour around the year does not help his cause as well what with the hardcourt season coming up shortly. Hardcourts are generally thought to be inflicting more pain on one’s knees compared to any other surface.

All said and done Nadal is famous for his grit and determination and 12 Grand Slams coupled with an Olympic Gold bear testament to this and who are we to say he is done and dusted. Only time will tell if he can come back and challenge himself and the rest of the world. One thing for sure is that he has given the fans a lot of pleasure, especially his rivalry with Federer. The tennis world would surely be delighted if he were to return to his best in the days to come. Only time will tell.