Rafa Nadal ended a good 2020 last Saturday with the sad epilogue of a new defeat in the ATP Finals, the only great tournament that resists him and that, for one thing or another, he has not managed to win in his ten participations. “I lost an important opportunity, but life continues,” he expressed sadly. A blur that should not overshadow the great achievements of the Balearic in a strange course, marked by the coronavirus pandemic. The most important was achieved at Roland Garros, where he won for the 13th time to add his 20th Grand Slam title and equal Roger Federer's record. in men's tennis. He also surpassed Jimmy Connors as the player with the most consecutive weeks in the top-10: 192 since Monday. And he is the one that has finished in the top-2 of the ranking the longest, 12, above Roger Federer's 11. In addition, in the 1,000th Masters in Paris-Bercy, Rafa reached 1,000 victories, a figure that only Jimmy Connors (1,274), Federer (1,242) and Lendl (1,068) have reached.
“It is not necessary to put notes on this year, the only one there is is negative due to the extreme situation we are experiencing, with a difficulty that nobody imagined. Everything goes to the background, but on a personal level, for what little I have played, it has been good. You have to be satisfied, “Nadal said after his defeat in London against Daniil Medvedev, eventually champion. The course started for Manacor in Perth and Sydney, with the ATP Cup, where Spain lost the final against Serbia and he finished with a balance of four wins and two losses. He continued at the Australian Open, where he collided in the quarterfinals with a great Thiem, who would be a finalist. In Acapulco, just before the start of the confinement, he won the title.
Fernando Robato
The COVID-19 crisis affected him emotionally and sportingly. Concerned about the situation, he embarked with Pau Gasol in the Red Cross Responde charity project and his campaign Our Best Victory served to raise more than 14 million euros and help more than a million people in vulnerable situations. When the circuit came back, Nadal decided to give up the American mini-tour that was concentrated in New York, due to his doubts about health security and because he had no points to defend for the ranking freeze. He reappeared in Rome almost seven months after having played his last game and fell in the quarterfinals against Schwartzman. But at a Roland Garros postponed to October he did not fail. He beat Djokovic in the final, cold and under cover, in unusual conditions that did not favor him. In Paris-Bercy he could not triumph for the first time either because Zverev also pushed him out of the way in the quarterfinals. That before the bitter end in London. He ends with the shortest balance of his career since 2004 (27-7), due to the pandemic, and two titles (see table).
From the moment of his defeat, Nadal was already thinking about what was ahead. A 2021 in which, if all goes well, the ATP Cup, the four Grand Slams, the nine Masters 1,000, the Davis Cup Finals and the Masters will return, and also face again a challenge that he loves, that of the Olympic Games, which will take place in Tokyo after being postponed this year. Although everything is a little up in the air and will depend on the evolution of the disease that has everyone in pain and on alert. “My route is to rest a few days and start training. Be ready for January 15 to try to be to the maximum of my possibilities in what is played”, explained the world number two, advancing that the start of the season could be delayed. “I have to make an effort this next month and a half, to be a better player if possible and give myself options, because next year is going to be important.” And it will probably be in the fight for historical supremacy with Federer, who will return in Melbourne, and Djokovic, and before the unstoppable rise of the youngest. “You have to shore up a series of things that are going to be needed. Hopefully the vaccines are effective and after a few months we can return to a certain normality, “wished Nadal, a titan who does not give up.