The Legend

Have you heard of a walking legend? No, this isn't about Will Smith's 'I Am Legend'. Now, amidst the brouhaha of Mens' Final in Australian Open, I can vouch people will admit that this extremely ritualustic and resilient Nadal is the one - the only man on earth with 21 Grand Slam titles to his name.

I'm no sports fan, yet my naivety did not stop me from reading the crowd's tumultuous applause this evening that literally spelled Nadal's score for anybody hearing - no need to watch if you're only interested in the numbers. The cadence of lull (a smattering of cheers) and following outburst was quite irregular in the first set - to the dismay of many, Nadal lost the first one. After that the moments of silence and shout-outs gave each other a fair competition. Yet, Nadal lost the Tiebreaker in second set, and I set out for my evening chores, surmising Nadal was done for.

But the crowd didn't! They grew insane by the score - his tactics of ensnaring his equally-abled opponent to the net and snagging a point by returning the fluorescent green sphere in the empty part of the court, his strong forehand as opposed to Medvedev's backhand, his powerful serves preceded by the repetition of pre-serve rituals - wiping of eyebrows, dabbing his cheeks with black Nike emblazoned green wristband, his turning and twisting of brawny torso spraying drops of perspiration - all of it was under x-ray focus of fans and on-screen-spectators around the globe.

Finally, a moment of history was carved - the sweat-drenched white-magenta draped 35-year old won an incredible, unprecedented win to lift his coveted 21st Grand Slam Trophy and title - the first man on earth to do so after strafing the apparently impregnable tie of 20 Grand Slams with Federer and Djokovic since Wimbledon 2021. Other statistics can be gleaned by trawling through a few easily accessible web pages, but witnessing that paroxysm of emotions after a physically and mentally draining two-week journey to the fame and glory of the fabled 21st Grand Slam that upticked Nadal's honour was a dimension in itself!

Dona, Sydney, 30 Jan 2022