"Hello, Rafa!" Ten years ago, Federer knocked on the door of room 449 in a hotel in Basel. He wanted to greet Nadal, to talk to him. The Swiss couldn't stand the curiosity anymore about that vigorous teenager who had become his main rival on the circuit in the last year and a half and with whom he had hardly exchanged words. Federer showed him his swollen ankle due to a ligament sprain, while Nadal talked to him about Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid. The farewell was friendly. "Good luck!"
They had it, no doubt. Yesterday's final showed two players who have accumulated 155 titles, 31 of them Grand Slam. Their rivalry marked tennis like few others, although in recent times it had been blurred. A crisis-stricken Nadal missed the appointments where Federer was still waiting. Almost two years without facing each other, an unprecedented gap resolved in Basel. A reunion in the right place.
Did they play at their best level? No. Did it matter? Not at all. The key lies elsewhere. Enjoying them, without a doubt, and above all wondering if the rivalry still has a future.
If we have to take a risk, the answer is "yes": there will be more chapters in 2016.
There is nothing to indicate that Federer will lose the great level he showed this season, and there are also signs in the sense of a recomposition in the game and mentality of the Spaniard. Or more than signs.
"In a few months, he will be very strong again. My expectation is that we will return to the top". The phrase is from Toni Nadal in an interview published today by the Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger. The lifelong coach of the nine-time Roland Garros champion is convinced that the worst is behind. He even dares to say that he sees his nephew winning more Grand Slam titles.
If historically prudent uncle Toni is right, the race for history between the two "Rs" will come back to life. Even with Novak Djokovic in the middle, unstoppable this year, but fallible like any athlete.
There's Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic, yes. There's Andy Murray, also Stanislas Wawrinka. And there's more.
All very nice, but have a Nadal-Federer and check the obvious: hardly anything resists him.
jt.