Calvin – the character from the famous comic strip Calvin and Hobbes - once said “You know, Hobbes, some days even my lucky rocket ship underpants don't help”.
Truly, when a person runs out of luck, everything bad that can happen, happens. And this holds especially true for sportsmen. Talking about fate, brings to mind the likes of Yuvraj Singh, Tiger Woods, Oscar Pistorious. All of them have had mercurial rises and even steeper falls. And most of these falls can be attributed to plain bad luck.
Truly, “Hell hath no fury as Godesss of Luck Frowned”.
But if there is one sportsman, who has managed to come out of the highs and lows of life with an halycon mind, it is Rafael Nadal – arguably one of the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) Tennis Players.
“Luck” is something that has deserted Rafael Nadal over and over again at the Australian Open (AO) – his “unlucky” grand slam.
This jinx has come out to haunt him again and again and again! Look at the following statistics.
· In 2006, Nadal was sidelined out of the AO due to a foot injury.
· In 2010, Nadal had to retire from his Quarterfinal match against Andy Murray due to a knee injury.
· And then, he had another leg injury against David Ferrer in 2011 Quarterfinal.
· What’s worse, he missed the 2013 edition of the tournament due to an unexpected stomach bug!
· And finally, in 2014, a year when he was finally expected to break the jinx of the AO, Nadal succumbed to his ill luck. AGAIN!!! His back suddenly gave way in what was expected to be a blockbuster grand slam final.
Can anybody be unluckier than Rafael Nadal? Can anyone be more unfortunate than him? Well, I have just iterated his jinx at the AO.
Now take a look at the other (less glaring) instances of bad luck
· Rafael Nadal missed what could be his first ever French open in 2004 (he was 17 then) because of an ankle injury. He had to wait one full year before he could set foot on Frrench Open courts for the first time.
· It took Nadal three agonizing years to finally win in the finals of the Wimbeldon. (Nadal lost both the finals in 2006 & 2007 to Roger Federer)
· After having a dream run in 2008 and beginning of 2009, Nadal’s form nosedived. He was playing with a debilitating knee injury and wasn’t mentally strong enough for the rigors of professional tennis. And add to this the fact that his parents were undergoing an acrimonious separation. As a result of all this Nadal was a physiologically, physically and psychologically a wreck. 2009 turned out to be a disastrous year for him. He even lost at French open (* this is the only loss he has ever faced at French Open)
· And the story of 2009 repeated itself in 2012. Nadal was sidelined for eleven months (starting from the shock defeat to World No 100 Luckas Rosol in the second round of Wimbeldon) due to a knee injury.
And thus, we see Nadal has faced the lowest of lows and highest of highs in his volatile career. Any other player would've perhaps been wrecked at the end of this strenuous and unpredictable journey. But not Nadal.
So, how has he managed to come through all that life had in store for him with an equanimous mind? Well, I'll leave that for another article.
On a lighter note though I guess Nadals weird obsessive tick of "yanking at his underwear" before every serve may have got to do with this!
Well, Calvin has been proven wrong hasn't he? "Lucky Underpants (even though they may not be rocketship underpants) do help tide luck in your favor!"
Vamos Nadal!
-Tejas Mehta
Truly, “Hell hath no fury as Godesss of Luck Frowned”.
But if there is one sportsman, who has managed to come out of the highs and lows of life with an halycon mind, it is Rafael Nadal – arguably one of the Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) Tennis Players.
“Luck” is something that has deserted Rafael Nadal over and over again at the Australian Open (AO) – his “unlucky” grand slam.
This jinx has come out to haunt him again and again and again! Look at the following statistics.
· In 2006, Nadal was sidelined out of the AO due to a foot injury.
· In 2010, Nadal had to retire from his Quarterfinal match against Andy Murray due to a knee injury.
· And then, he had another leg injury against David Ferrer in 2011 Quarterfinal.
· What’s worse, he missed the 2013 edition of the tournament due to an unexpected stomach bug!
· And finally, in 2014, a year when he was finally expected to break the jinx of the AO, Nadal succumbed to his ill luck. AGAIN!!! His back suddenly gave way in what was expected to be a blockbuster grand slam final.
Can anybody be unluckier than Rafael Nadal? Can anyone be more unfortunate than him? Well, I have just iterated his jinx at the AO.
Now take a look at the other (less glaring) instances of bad luck
· Rafael Nadal missed what could be his first ever French open in 2004 (he was 17 then) because of an ankle injury. He had to wait one full year before he could set foot on Frrench Open courts for the first time.
· It took Nadal three agonizing years to finally win in the finals of the Wimbeldon. (Nadal lost both the finals in 2006 & 2007 to Roger Federer)
· After having a dream run in 2008 and beginning of 2009, Nadal’s form nosedived. He was playing with a debilitating knee injury and wasn’t mentally strong enough for the rigors of professional tennis. And add to this the fact that his parents were undergoing an acrimonious separation. As a result of all this Nadal was a physiologically, physically and psychologically a wreck. 2009 turned out to be a disastrous year for him. He even lost at French open (* this is the only loss he has ever faced at French Open)
· And the story of 2009 repeated itself in 2012. Nadal was sidelined for eleven months (starting from the shock defeat to World No 100 Luckas Rosol in the second round of Wimbeldon) due to a knee injury.
And thus, we see Nadal has faced the lowest of lows and highest of highs in his volatile career. Any other player would've perhaps been wrecked at the end of this strenuous and unpredictable journey. But not Nadal.
So, how has he managed to come through all that life had in store for him with an equanimous mind? Well, I'll leave that for another article.
On a lighter note though I guess Nadals weird obsessive tick of "yanking at his underwear" before every serve may have got to do with this!
Well, Calvin has been proven wrong hasn't he? "Lucky Underpants (even though they may not be rocketship underpants) do help tide luck in your favor!"
Vamos Nadal!
-Tejas Mehta