Rafael Nadal: Your regular tennis superhero

Retirements in any walk of life are hard decisions to make, as it involves letting go of something that has been a big part of one's lives. Retirements in sports, however, is a different kettle of fish, since it not only involves those who are leaving the arena, but also those who have passionately supported the athlete for a number of years and are now left with a sense of emptiness that can take years to fill.

Thursday was one such day when Rafael Nadal announced that the upcoming Davis Cup finals will be his last tournament, perhaps finally deciding that he had torn his body to the maximum extent and in the process, made himself into one of the greatest tennis players of all time.

It is important to note why Nadal "made himself" into a tennis player. A long-standing foot injury that was diagnosed early in his life may have forced him to contemplate an early retirement, but sport does not belong to only those athletes, who win by making things look easy. It is also about those who will themselves to go the extra mile and so for every Roger Federer, there must be a Nadal to offer a different perspective, a different viewpoint to look at sport and take lessons out of it.

In that sense, Nadal, in his storied career, gave plenty of lessons. His legacy in the game will go down as the greatest clay court tennis player of all time, bar none. It is not just the 14 Roland Garros titles that he won, but also his record at each of the ATP 1000 Masters tournaments on the red dirt that stand testament to his superiority on the surface, which he has mastered in a way that few have.

Yet, though, Nadal does have 8 non-clay slams in his CV. While his game revolved around defence until the end of his career, it also evolved to such an extent that it made him good enough to win on faster surfaces of the grass and hard courts. Die-hard Nadal fans might even go to the extent of saying that in that regard, he has the edge over Federer in the GOAT debate as the latter could only win one slam on his weakest surface-clay-while the former won two slams on grass-long considered the surface that did not suit his game- including the slam that is looked as the greatest of his career- 2008 Wimbledon.

The one aspect to Nadal's tennis that lasted until the very end was how hard he made some of the points look and how he raised heart rate levels, on more than one occasion with his defensive style of play. Yet, he will go down as the player with arguably the best forehand in the game, one that screeched the surface with devastating power. He could create unusual angles and create winners that could leave the opponent and the watching public in complete awe and and as the years passed, Nadal-especially when a lot was on the line-brought out the serve-and-backhand-volley technique to keep himself in the match.

But, for all his on court antics, Nadal's career must also be remembered for what he brought outside the court. A loss for him was not earth shattering, it did not make him a bad player. Right till the end, Nadal remained effusive in his praise for his opponents at press conferences and did not give excuses for his defeat and rather, spoke about wanting to improve to go deeper in future tournaments.

Similarly, when he won matches, he did not turn up to press conferences with an attitude of having achieved something significant. When asked about his next opponent, there was no disrespect shown, no matter how inexperienced or less successful he was as compared to him and he levied the same level of importance to every match and tournament that he played.

In that regard, Nadal understood tennis for what it was- something that we forget too often-a sport. Winning was essential to him and it was evident in the way he trained before matches and fought for every point, but losing was not the end of the world. He loved playing tennis, but he was not entirely trapped by the sport.

The greatest example, as to why tennis was only a part of his life and not everything in his life was seen in 2018 when he went on ground to help families and residences that were affected by flash floods in Mallorca. Images of him holding a broom stick and wearing protective equipment and getting his hands dirty were shared all over social media and were met with immense respect.

“It was terrible. Scary, and very sad. I really lived that tragedy, from very close. Was very sad for all the people that lost the materials, but especially, the lives that can’t come back.”

“The next day, we went on court and after 10 minutes, I said ‘Guys, I can’t practice.’” I came back, and I was here with the friends and after that, we decided to go there. That’s all," Nadal told CNN in an interview in December that year.

A ruthlessly competitive tennis star, who at the time held 17 Grand Slams, had offered more than a glimpse of his inner personality and in a lot of ways, it helped Nadal create a wider fanbase. It should come as no surprise that Nadal has opted to retire after playing for Spain. For all his slam victories, the two Olympic Gold medals and four Davis Cup triumphs will occupy a separate place in his heart and he would want to add a fifth title before heading into sunset.

He will most certainly be missed by everyone in the tennis fraternity and in his retirement, he will watch his son grow, his academy evolve and produce champions for the future and from time to time he will also hope to see that the next generation of players would put grit over beauty and humility over arrogance, for that is what he stood for.

Despedida amigo. You can be proud of what you achieved and have a page all for yourself in tennis history books.