Skip to main content

A Word to Rafa

Dear Rafael,
I am not a tennis-lover, but your autobiography with John Carlin must have inspired millions and it sure has inspired me. It made me turn page after page in eagerness to find out which facet of your personality would be unveiled next. And sure and subtly enough, you have got me to know you very well!

I liked the line in 'Rafa- My Story' which said that Wimbledon was one of your favorite tournaments, and the Wimbledon crowd, one of the best spectators. It was added soon after, that for you, it wasn't about the strawberry-cheese (a similar phrase!:) ) crowds, as much as the effort wasn't a 'strawberry-cheese' feeling- it was as real as the crowds and the routine and being both a 'pragmatist' and a 'dogmatist.'

What really drew me in was your fascination for routines. Sometimes, I realize, it is hard to keep up routines and superstitions, but I also realize that they serve the purpose of giving one the kind of certainty, focus and confidence that it becomes instinctive and necessary.

Your recent Final at Roland Garros was a beautifully played one. Neither Thiem nor you let up! Doesn't that fascinate you? To have an opponent as competent as you, and a tough fight? Come on, I know it does! You have let that on in the book often enough!

Roland Garros is clay- a surface that you have grown up on and that has been yours for years in the past decade. Both of you were very robust and focused- and there were moments when the odds were balanced. Thank you for giving spectators and fans such a nail-biting finish! Even though it wasn't a victory this time, it is learning for you. You have given us a lot to hope for, and our hopes still rest on you! (Says Thiem too, it's a once in a lifetime chance with you in the final, I'm sure!)

When there are 2 sides, math says there can be a draw, Victory A or Victory B. Each stage of Roland Garros was so tentative that making it to the finals is a feat in itself. You and Thiem accomplished that feat. 

I know that you can reason this for yourself, but I am only reiterating it for you, in case you blame your routines or your game. Don't change 'nothing' if you believe in it. And what's more- don't change yourself. You're still the Rafa we love- the Rafa you are- the Rafa whom Dominic Thiem takes pride in beating because he is a figure to be reckoned with.

Maybe your health was short, or Dominic had an edge on that front. The probabilities are plenty that are absolutely independent of either of you. That should comfort you.

By the way, could I ask where you are now? Playing soccer. golf, relaxing, or preparing for your next match?

Do write back when you are free.
:)
Warmly,
Aparna Iyer
(for whom you are a role model)
India
_______
P.S.: This letter has been written assuming Rafeal Nadal lost his final to Dominic Thiem at the French Open 2018. Rafa was in fact the French Open 2018 champion- as he has been for several years.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Still

A landscape of feathers The smoothest natural canvas, For Nature's painter- Alighting while parading its beauty Before retreating  Into a well-worn easel. Soot-black, rust-grey, brown like tinsel, Folding up and pulling down the covers Over grace, beauty and space, Compounded with distance, Rendering known unknowns, beautiful art. Now mingled with unknown knowns, Streaks of color paint the marauded canvas Differently. Camouflage seems eminent, Unimportance, inadvertent. The marvels Of the aerial world, beget stupor as  They transform into the pedestrian In the realm which is terrestrial. The miracle of flight now a bane, As for food they must forage  With feet, not fly with feathers. I don't want to startle them. It is silence that beckons them to the ground. Startlement stirs them upwards, into the skies, Simpering, whimpering, not soaring and diving- Trespassers on a land where they are weak, Vulnerable- they know they can't win. Aviation is a weapon futile against...
1 comment
Read more

The Tree Says 'Hi'

  The tree says Hi! My balcony was briefly an arboretum. Windswept leaves splayed over the floor  Like champion specimens -parts of a fine species- Careening into a welcoming sanctum That is otherwise empty- save for clothes on stands Or people on feet. When this tree paid its timely visit Luckily, there was nothing, no-one. It probably seized A rare chance- when it was out of anchor, fit and fine, In form- and the tiled floor bare. No sign of occupation. It bore its way past the metal rails that serve to Prevent our falls, but here cushioned the tree's. It rested its somber branches easily on the rail, Which is mighty strong and sturdy, as I can now discern. It snooped its slender branches threateningly over A cauldron of leaves. Green cauldron, green sorcerer. When I woke, there it was, unshakeable, unmovable. Oh, it was mobile alright. It'd have moved of its own will. It was merely enjoying its soiree in a forbidden land, Like we all do. But it just stared at me, with compo...
4 comments
Read more

Clandestine

Sometimes we wait too long, To speak our minds. We let lingering truths linger, We let sporadic clocks, chime.. We allow patient seams to fritter away Like a sparrow does with the timber of the tune That she was shrouded by; shrill words tearing  Ears, each word she utters, careful, today. While the first day it was a free reign, until Some unctuous winds carried to her, criticism. Just the same way as copper utensils in a house Of steel, are anyone's delight, until bronzed,  With wear and use, both are the victims Of sundry needs and glances. Just the same way, some things, Are stowed away in careful pockets Because they have borne a lot of perusing When kept in the open.  Like love. Like hurt. Like envy. Like silence. Trust and truth are two things I can list, That are given, that are l'habitude. I tell the truth because it is, it exists, It is what I perceive, it is what I've lived.. And I keep your trust, because I've learnt That it'll help you keep mine, it wil...
Post a Comment
Read more