Goodbye Rafa, the end of a legend

It’s called a final 8, but it will first be his final. In recent months, in response to a body signifying having served its time, Rafael Nadal must have really thought about how to say bye. And above all where. He chose the Davis Cup, “at the casa », when the France of tennis was counting on a final push to hem the clay curtain. Rather than twenty years after his first coronation at Roland-Garros (2005), the Spaniard will therefore complete the work twenty years after his first bowl (Seville 2004), in an event since subject to great lifts. His way of “closing the loop”, according to the formula used in his sober video of October 10, announcing the news that everyone suspected.

The youngest winner in the history of the Davis Cup, Nadal can now, at 38, become the oldest to win the title point. In the Málaga sports center, there will be a lot of people dreaming of such an outcome, before letting their eyes glaze over. On the ticketing side, immediate raid on all sessions likely to welcome the idol.

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Federer watched

To hope for a resale sesame, count on a price of four or even five figures. This way is the right Cup. While waiting for the quarter-final on Tuesday against the Netherlands, the ball was opened by the Billie Jean King Cup, the program disrupted by torrential rain. But with already, surrounding the arena, a «Thank you Rafa» spread over 2,600 square meters of canvas.

Everyone is preparing to stand up for Nadal, including some contemporary rivals. Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic, now the last of the monuments, he who fought so hard with the person concerned (60 duels), have suggested that they will be present. But the most watched will be Roger Federer. Besides the finals at Wimbledon – the one in 2008 claims the title of match of the century – or the joint resurgence at the 2017 Australian Open, no one has forgotten the tears shared at the end of the Laver Cup two years ago.

This farewell, hand in hand, Federer had the photo framed. As strong as it is, the tribute from Málaga will remain little in absolute terms compared to Nadal’s career. When you have won so much, so dazzled, the best cannot possibly be left for last. Still, this reverence promises to be beautiful. Pompomed but surly.

“With them, I find the same emotions” (Yannick Noah, captain of the French wheelchair tennis team)

It’s not a jubilee, nor a cash register like the recent Six Kings Slam, during which Nadal took his check and his part in Saudi “sportwashing”. It’s a pure sporting moment. A story of choice also for David Ferrer, the Spanish captain, three and a half months after Nadal’s failure at the Olympics, in singles and doubles (with Carlos Alcaraz).

But, beyond the strategy, like everyone else, he wants to see one last time the sprints in the corridor, the water bottles lined up, the lasso forehands, the defenses at the end of the world, the points dropped like uppercuts . And hear the latest «Let’s go Rafa! » full of gratitude.