Ever since Rafael Nadal‘s debut in 2005, the Stade Roland Garros has been like a second home for the legend. His records on the red clay court are ridiculous. With a winning percentage of 96.5%, the Spaniard has defined tennis in his own terms. However, his alleged last time on the same court ended in sheer nightmare. Even before the legend stepped on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the crowd had begun cheering “Vamos Rafa!”
This is the kind of craze this living legend of tennis has among his fans. But as the match commenced and eventually moved ahead, there was a strange nervousness in the crowd. Excitement had subsided because ‘the’ Rafael Nadal – King of the French Open, had slipped. Despite giving a tough fight, the battle had been lost. Germany’s Alexander Zverev played to a checkmate on Nadal. If the game was Nadal’s last on the French soil, then it wasn’t the send-off he would’ve dreamed of. Moreover, tennis is a brutal game with little scope for sentimentality.
However, a single lost game or a series of such lost games does not define an icon’s career. Nadal has given immense joy to his fans, Endless memories, and a legacy to look up to. In light of Rafael Nadal’s nightmare exit from the French Open, former F1 star Mark Webber noted finding astounding connections between this event and Lewis Hamilton‘s British GP win, saying Hamilton is “like a shark in the ocean that smelled blood” as he ended his two and a half years of a winless streak.
Mark Webber compares Lewis Hamilton to the likes of tennis legend Rafael Nadal
Mark Webber connected the King of Silverstone to the King of the French Open. Hamilton’s victory was a long time in coming. It was so emotional that tears flowed freely among him and his fans at the race’s end. Webber saw the emotion and hunger in the 39-year-old to still achieve success. Comparing Hamilton to Rafael Nadal in terms of ‘micro doubts’, he said: “For a man of his caliber, that [win] is obviously massive.”
Webber added: “And also for an individual like him, when you’ve got a trophy cabinet like his, with over 100 wins, but he still has that paranoid perfection, those micro doubts that people like Rafa Nadal talk about, [asking themselves] ‘Can I still do this?” Lewis Hamilton sets the bar and raises the same; his win at the 2024 British Grand Prix was one of his biggest moments, marking his last visit with Mercedes. He took charge from the very beginning and did a great job, clinching his 104th F1 win. Moreover, it was his first in 945 days since the 2021 Saudi GP.
Self-doubt is a part of the very existence of humans. And no one has ever been saved from the same. Be it Lewis Hamilton or Rafael Nadal, a sudden dip in their performance in the sport they’ve ruled for years brings out the ‘can I do it?’ angle. However, their legacy and records speak volumes against their doubts. And it won’t be an exaggeration to say that it’ll take generations to break the records Lewis Hamilton and Rafael Nadal have made in their respective sports.
