Amid the thunderous silence of the Omnisport, symbol of a confined city, Rafa Nadal reached 1,000 career victories in his debut at the 1,000 Masters in Paris. An exclusive club in which only four tennis players have access to the Open Era: Jimmy Connors (1,274), Roger Federer (1,242), Ivan Lendl (1,068) and him. With suffering, he had to overcome his friend Feliciano López to win the game 4-6, 7-6 (5) and 6-4 in 2h: 30 and meet tomorrow Thursday (fourth shift, around 4:00 p.m. at #Vamos) with the Australian Jordan Thompson (61st), who defeated Borna Coric 2-6, 6-4 and 6-2.
In Nadal's thousand victories, there is room for 20 Grand Slams of which 13 correspond to Roland Garros (100 times he has won in the Bologna Forest), 35 Masters 1,000, five Davis Cups, two Olympic golds, 27 wins over Novak Djokovic or 24 against Roger Federer, the two tennis players who are helping with their competition to elevate him to infinity… There are countless joys and also games like today's in which without playing quite well he ends up rummaging and persevering until they are awarded. There is room for the stubbornness and competitive spirit of 'Jimbo', the coldness to get out of difficult situations by Lendl and the magic of the Swiss genius. Between the three, Nadal is the one with the best percentage of victories, 83.2% compared to 82% for Federer, 81.8% for the American and 81.5% for the Czech who later embraced the stars and stripes flag.
Nadal started the game cold, very cold in the city where on October 11 he lifted the Musketeers Cup for the 13th time at Roland Garros. And Feliciano, prepared, achieved an entry break. Imposing with his serve (he only yielded a break ball in the set that the Balearic did not take advantage of), the Toledo won 14 of the first 15 services he put into play, signed eight aces (22 total) and only committed 11 unforced errors. The champion of 20 majors failed to make the rest strong, the base from which his triumphs are built. In 41 minutes, he looked 6-4 for his partner … A tennis player who is coached by his best colleague, Marc López, and with whom he has shared joys at Davis and 26 doubles games, many training sessions and countless hotel hours.
He had to put one more gear on a track in which he has never felt comfortable and in which he has his ceiling in the semifinals. Nadal, with a blunt edge and a more clogged drive than usual, was shielded on serve (he only lost four service points in the second set and finished the match with 16 aces) and he pressured the brave Feliciano (39 years old and 64th in the ranking) until he obtained five break balls that he did not take advantage of. The tiebreaker came and there he imposed his weight on the key points.
Stunned, Feliciano delivered a breakout in the third set. But he did not lose face, he took for a walk powerful services (above 200 km / h), volleys of class and character. But in front he had Nadal. The man with 1,000 wins, the tennis player who has been in the top-10 for 789 consecutive weeks, since April 25, 2005. To the colossus that the Masters also wants that resists in its record. To a millennial tennis player.