Rafael Nadal: No Olympics can result in the US Open title – Tennis Special (Part One)
World number three, Rafael Nadal, was fired up to defend his title at the London Olympics. However, the niggling injuries especially the knee problem forced him to withdraw from the event that earned him the first gold medal of
his life four years ago at Beijing, China.
Nadal was never a bystander in the Olympics but a deserving defending champion and moreover the flag bearer for the versatile Spanish troops sent to London for the hunt of medals. It was definitely a major decision of his career;
an event that everyone longs to participate in has been missed by the former world number one due to injuries. What more can be more painful than this?
Gutted Nadal commented on his withdrawal and stated, “This is one of the saddest days of my career as one of my biggest ambitions that of being Spain's flag bearer in the opening ceremony of the games in London cannot be."
Furthermore, those critics who are calling it a tactical move has completely lost it because Nadal would never ever back down from any situation, any title, any surface and any level. A tournament that comes after every four years
and can be played by a professional on three consecutive occurrences at most just because no player lasts 16 years amongst the Top-64 players of the world. Who would want to quit such an esteemed tournament on purpose? Probably an insane sportsman!
Some people think that the 26-year-old Spaniard wanted to rest and comeback strong at the hard court field of US Open. I can’t believe that these people actually think about Olympics being a meagre event. These critics need a reason,
a slight shallow hole in a player’s life to criticize him. They don’t see that the King of Clay has been carrying the knee injury since the age of 14 and he is always playing through pain just to attain more glory in his stupendous career.
Nadal’s heart will be burning from inside seeing his arch rivals, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray battling it out at the grass court field of Wimbledon for the pursuit of gold medal. The champion was sitting at home
witnessing his title drifting away with the passage of every round and he can’t do anything about it. It hurts like anything to helplessly witness your beloved attachments being snatched away from you in front of your eyes.
Put yourself in the Spaniard’s shoes and see how he feels. He must have watched Olympics on HD with olives and potato sticks discussing the possibilities of who can win the gold on the world’s elitist stage which was all yours
five years ago. No can bear that pain but the Spanish professional stood up to the challenge and accepted to handover the dream spot to some other player.
However, stating all the sadness about missing the Olympics, Rafa can step up his game and take advantage of the rest. I will further talk about how he can utilize the break in the following part. Stay tuned!
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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