Vamos, Rafa! (Y Gracias Por Los Recuerdos….)

It’s a tricky business when you start referring to something or someone as the “greatest ever.” There are many variables involved – most of which are subjective, and many of which reside exclusively in the recesses of your own brain. You can call something the biggest or smallest, heaviest or most expensive. These are quantifiable measures that can be backed up with data.

But “greatest?” That seems like a word that never should have been invented. It means nothing in quantifiable terms and is mainly used as a springboard to endless and endlessly inane arguments. I get the feeling the word was invented by some ancient emperor who needed new words to describe his, uh, greatness.

But since we’re stuck with the word, anyway…..

With the recent retirement of Rafael Nadal, we are slowly closing the door on the greatest era ever in men’s professional tennis — and no other era even comes close. For that, we can thank three players: Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic.

Fed, Rafa and Novak are not only the three greatest men’s players of their generation. They’re the greatest ever, period, since tennis was invented in the long ago. Anyone who wants to argue the point might as well argue that the earth is flat (yeah, those folks exist, too).

And while we’re on the subject: Nadal, who only retired a few days ago, is the greatest clay court player of all time – and no other player comes close to that, either.

Forget the numbers. Actually, no – don’t forget the numbers. Don’t forget the numbers, because the numbers tell the story. Combined, the Big Three of Fed (20), Rafa (22) and Novak (24) have won 66 major singles titles. Among men, the next three on the list – Pete Sampras, Roy Emerson and Rod Laver – have won a combined 37.

(Let us take a brief time out to note: The three women with the most major singles titles have a combined 69 – Margaret Court with 24, Serena Williams with 23, and Steffi Graf with 22. But Court piled up many of hers before the Open era).

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Rafa won 14 singles titles at the French Open, which is the only major played on clay. The male player who ranks second is Bjorn Borg, with six. Nadal won 63 clay court titles overall during his two-decade ATP career – nearly 30% more than No. 2 on the list (Guillermo Vilas with 49).

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have combined to win 294 singles titles overall – nearly 100 each. Believe me when I tell you this: Any pro player who finishes their career with even 20 titles has had one hell of a fine career.

Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have all won career Grand Slams, meaning they’ve won the French, Australian, US Open and Wimbledon titles. Only two other male players in the modern era have done that – Rod Laver and Andre Agassi.

And here’s the thing: The Big Three did all this having to play each other, all the time, tournament after tournament. To win a big tournament, at least one of the three greatest players of all time often had to beat at least two of the three greatest players of all time.

When the Big Three weren’t playing each other, they spent two decades running roughshod over everyone else. You could fill a tennis stadium with the number of players whose carcasses got left behind on the clay, grass or asphalt after being slain and gutted by Fed, Rafa or Novak.

Poor Andy Murray. For a while, he was considered the fourth member of what was once referred to as the Big Four – until it became obvious that as great as Andy was, he simply wasn’t in the same league as the Other Three.

Andy, who also retired this year, won three major singles titles and 46 titles overall. He notched 29 ATP wins against the Big Three during his career. That’s an amazing number, and no other player even comes close. But here’s the thing: Andy also had 56 losses against the Big Three. That means he lost about two-thirds of his matches against them – and Murray is an all-time talent who probably would have won 10 or so majors in any other era.

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Well, it’s been a great era for a tennis fan. And it’s coming to a close.

Federer retired two years ago, which I blogged about at the time. Novak, an alien from outer space, is still a top 10 player. Damn him…

Rafa retired this month, at the Davis Cup, at the age of 38. I haven’t seen his final match yet or his goodbye ceremony, which I understand was pretty low-key. I subscribe to Tennis TV and the Tennis Channel, which means I have access to dozens of matches a week. With this much content, I’m usually a few weeks behind what’s actually happening in the real world. I have recorded but not yet watched the Davis Cup (no spoilers, please!).

I saw Rafael Nadal play once in person, back in the mid-2000s. It was at the U.S. Open in New York City, when my wife and I lived there. This was during the Early Rafa era, when the Young Man from Majorca still had long flowing hair, and still wore sleeveless shirts and Capri pants. Many of the female fans serenaded Rafa with the traditional hottie whistles whenever he had to change his shirt (I was there; I remember). It was also the first time I ever heard him referred to as “Rafa,” by a guy in the stands who must have been from Spain.

As a fan, I always had a great deal of admiration for Rafa, even though I thought other players had more compelling playing styles (like Federer). During the height of the Fed-Rafa rivalry, I tended to pull for Rafa at Wimbledon and Fed at the French Open.

Rafa had an unquenchable competitive spirit. He always, always, always gave his best effort on the court, even though he battled injuries throughout his career. He was a beast who crowded the baseline and put constant pressure on his opponents with a lethal forehand and stinging two-handed backhand.

He was fast and athletic and very hard to hit the ball past or through. He was one of the best defensive players ever. He was an excellent full-court player as well, with A-plus skills at the net.

He thrilled the fans with his fist pumps and shouts of “Vamos!” whenever he was in the heat of a thrilling match – which was often, and yet still not often enough for those of us who couldn’t get enough of it.

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Rafael Nadal elevated the sport with his talent, spirit, character, class, leadership, humility and personality. He seems like a genuinely nice guy. You could picture yourself sharing a beer with him out on his boat, off the Spanish coast, fishing for marlin or whatever (he’s an avid fisherman in his free time, and an avid golfer).

Rafa was loved by most fans and players – except for the Novak or Fed fanatics who dissed him endlessly on stupidass social media forums, and a couple of grouchy players who bitched when Nadal took his time between points (truth be told: the guy did have more than a few tics and superstitions).

Personally, I had great love for Rafa, and will miss seeing him out there. I got to see a lot of his matches thanks to the magic of TV and streaming channels devoted strictly to tennis. I’ve been a tennis fan and player for more than a half-century, but only over the past dozen years have I been able to tune into matches whenever I want.

The Greatest Era of Men’s Tennis aligned perfectly with my personal Greatest Era of Tennis TV Viewing. Sometimes small blessings are the greatest ones (that word again).

Adios, Rafa. Thanks for the brilliance, thanks for the passion.

Note: I borrowed the photo from something called the World Wide Web, which you can access from your computing machine free of charge! It’s the perfect Rafa image, down in the dirt after chasing down a ball, his face a portrait of grit and determination.