The Bull tames his apprentice
Nadal farewell a case of ‘don’t stuff it up’
This is the effect Rafael Nadal will have on Carlos Alcaraz.
The showboating will vanish. The flamboyant young Wimbledon champion gets a kick out of attempting ridiculously ambitious shots and laughing it off with the crowd.
But there’s no way in a million years his crazed Harlem Globetrotter moments will continue when he partners Nadal at the Olympics.
Here’s the Games’ second Dream Team. Even Lebron James wouldn’t mind a comfortable courtside seat when Alcaraz and Nadal – doubles teams are named in alphabetical order – are let off their leashes in the doubles at good old Roland Garros.
It will be deeply meaningful for Alcaraz, who’s basically a lovely and rather sensitive fella. The great Nadal is walk
ing off into the sunset and it’s Nadal who has the honour of holding his hand.
Nadal is a king to Spaniards. No one bows more sincerely than Alcaraz. For the 22 major titles but mostly, for the warrior heart.
This is Nadal’s final Olympics and for all we know, the last tournament he will ever play. We know exactly how he
will play it. With a furrowed brow. Head down, bum up. With nothing but his grimfaced desire to add to the Olympic singles and doubles gold medals in his closet.
Alcaraz will be nervous beyond measure. His job? Don’t stuff it up.
They can both volley like a dream. They can both hit a ground stroke on clay.
For entertainment value, we’ve never seen a doubles team like it.
Alcaraz knows how much Nadal needs him to fire up. He has to carry the old bloke home. Alcaraz won’t dare have his loony moments.
He has the honour of being at the crease for Bradman’s last innings. He’s on the court for Jordan’s last game. He’s sharing a pitch with an ageing Pele. That sort of thing.
Dealing with Nadal’s uncle and first coach, Toni, a few years ago, provided an idea of how they operate. You do things right and diligently or you don’t do them at all.
It was the French Open and Toni was the interview subject. A night out the previous evening meant the questions were not prepared. Quelle horreur!
Fumbling around in pockets for a pen. Toni chastised in a friendly way, but he was serious. Why, he asked, does a journalist at the French Open not treat it like a player?
Writing a story, he said, is no different to playing a match. You need to be physically well. You should be mentally alert and fresh. You will get satisfaction from writing a story to the very best of your ability.
Everyone at Roland Garros, he said, has a job to do. It was important for everyone to do it right. Including Rafa, including the janitor, including moi.
A young Nadal had those disciplinary messages drum– med into him from an early age. Hence his dedication to every point of every game of every set of every match of every tournament he’s ever played.
That’s the world Alcaraz is walking into. Leave the trick shots at home.
What do we call them? Alcadal? Nadalcaraz? Rafos? What a team. Must be a dream.