Rafael Nadal, the king of clay in his kingdom for one last time?

Bengaluru: Tennis scribes all around the world are busy scrambling for the right words. What could be the perfect intro? What could be the right outro? An everyday struggle it might seem but the current circumstances demand something out of the ordinary.

The story, after all, is about a player extraordinaire known for precision, patience, mastery, dominance and beyond all of it, an athlete with an unwavering fight.

The miracle man from the island of Mallorca -- Rafael Nadal Parera.  

The tennis legend, who turns 38 on June 3, will in all likelihood be competing at the 2024 French Open, his most loved hunting ground, for one last time. For Nadal’s fans or otherwise, who have grown-up watching ‘Rafa’ for over 20 years, letting go of something one took for granted is a bitter pill to swallow.  

Two weeks in the months of May-June each year, was the period when the ‘Spanish Bull’ with bulging biceps barged onto the red Paris clay courts only to bury every opponent in his way with brute force. One almost felt sorry for the victims of this kind of meticulous wrath.

What made Nadal special was his ability to combine contradictions. He was ruthless in his pursuit but always respectful in doing so. The body was always battered and bruised but the mind was made of steel. He attained tennis royalty but had a boy-next-door charm. The left eyebrow arching warrior with eagle eyes that sent shivers down opponents’ spine also had a smile of innocence that melted hearts. The world was his oyster but family was always the only priority. Come to think of it, this complex duality was smeared with simplicity that made Nadal endearing. 

Oh, and the left-handed tennis assassin’s mannerisms could be a chapter by itself. Be it his English with a strong Spanish accent or the 11-step pre-serve routine that begins by pulling his shorts made him the butt of jokes, but he did it anyway because it worked for him and he couldn’t care less. 

The 22-time Grand Slam winner was only one part of, what many pundits argue, the greatest era in men’s tennis history. Nadal's biggest nemesis and dear friend Roger Federer and the love-hate relationship sharing partner Novak Djokovic formed the other two big chunks of this narrative while Andy Murry was always a constant threat. The epic battles between these once-in-a-lifetime athletes on all three surfaces - hard, clay and grass - make for exemplary case studies in the university of sport.  

Carrying all this incredible weight on his withering body, Nadal will walk into Court Philippe Chatrier on Monday, to mark his 19th French Open appearance since winning on his debut in 2005. And first up for the 14-time champion here, who is unseeded this time, is Germany’s Alexander Zverev (seeded fourth).  

“Have been a few very difficult months. Have been a few very difficult moments. No?! Worked super hard every day,” Nadal repeated himself recently ahead of the year's second Slam where he holds a win-loss record of 112-3 matches.  

When the chair umpire announces ‘love all, play’ on May 27, tennis aficionados all around the world will get to witness his hop-skip and roundhouse fist-pump celebration, arranging water bottles in a specific direction that borders on OCD and some out of the world shots such as his banana forehand one more time with a ‘whether it will be one last time’ emotion lingering heavily in the air. 

Nadal might be nearing the end of a long journey. The echoes of his grunts and cries of ‘Vamos’ will fade away sooner than later. But it is safe to say that nobody would rule Roland Garros quite like 'The King of Clay’.