Down but not out: Rafael Nadal will rise again and remind us of his greatness

Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest men’s players of all time, is generally the embodiment of assuredness and vitality. His sculpted physique is more reminiscent of a short distance sprinter than the archetypical lithe shape of a tennis player.
His rigorous, high octane game has yielded him 14 grand slam titles over the past decade.
But it was a vastly different looking nadal after his shocking loss to German qualifier Dustin Brown in the second round of Wimbledon. The Spaniard was so noticeably crestfallen that some long-time tennis analysts said they had never seen Nadal looking so visibly dejected.

Normally, Nadal walks around in a frenetic pace with his chiselled chest and powerful shoulders jutting out projecting a man extremely confident in his ability and standing. After his loss, Nadal exited centre court in a slight daze. He meandered towards autograph hunters, half-heartedly signing autographs as his once unmistakable confidence was being battered like never before. His face looked beaten, brow furrowed and his shoulders slumped. His career was seemingly at the crossroads.
It wasn’t just the upset to a player ranked 102 - the fourth straight year Nadal has lost to a player outside the top 100 at Wimbledon - that was so jarring. It was the culmination of a wretched 12 months where Nadal has spiralled from the world’s best player and a realistic chance to overtake Roger s record of 17 majors to now many believing his career is in terminal decline.
After such a brutal loss - he is likely to slip further from his current ranking of 10 - it’s hard to be confident of predicting Nadal’s future with any certainty. He’s 29 years old but seems noticeably older. His punishing game was for so long the fulcrum of his domination. His sheer relentlessness broke the will of opponents – even Federer – for many years; now Nadal’s high-powered engine is running on empty.
Nadal is only one year older than Djokovic, but the Serbian looks so far ahead of his rival. The gulf has never been so wide. Federer is four years older, yet Nadal appears to be flaming out faster than the evergreen Swiss maestro, whose elegance and smoother style is less demanding on the body, and mind, than Nadal’s manic approach.
Even during the match against Brown, you could see Nadal trying to motivate himself with his old trusty resolve. There were trademark screams and fist pumps. But he couldn’t summon the fortitude and his once reliable game deserted him with a slew of misfires off the racquet that is sadly becoming increasingly more characteristic.
For those reasons, punctuated by the assortment of injuries he’s endured in recent years, many have started writing off Nadal’s prospects and believe he will forever be deadlocked with Pete Sampras on the list of grand slam winners.
Personally, I believe it is still too premature to dismiss Nadal as a spent force in men’s tennis. Admittedly, it is hard to see Nadal returning to his incomparable best. For so long, Nadal traded on his aura and intimidation. Opponents always knew they were in for a dogfight and most were unable to resist the pummeling. Right now, opponents, while respectful, know Nadal is unable to hit back every shot and conjure the consistent brute force he’s famed for.
After a horrible injury run during the backend of last year, Nadal has noticeably struggled to reach his peak fitness. His early exits this year, including a highly disappointing clay court season, meant Nadal hasn’t had the requisite match fitness he desperately craves.
Importantly, Nadal looks once again healthy but his conditioning is still lacking. He’s the type of athlete that relishes playing. Nadal loves nothing more than playing long gruelling matches. For a cricket parallel, think Courtney Walsh.
He should regain his conditioning during the next few months and would be expected to play better at the US Open.
It’s true, Nadal’s loss to the unheralded Brown was startling. But Wimbledon can produce these types of monumental upsets and poor Nadal has been on the end of his fair share over the years.
When he shakes from his stupor, Nadal is unlikely to fester about the defeat. It wasn’t as if he lost in a baseline shootout. Brown, with his eclectic shot making and penchant for the quaint serve and volley style, was an exceedingly dangerous opponent on grass. He freewheeled and conjured an array of incredible winners to deservedly win the match of his career. Nadal could never find his rhythm; that’s testament to Brown’s trickery.
To be clear, Brown won the match by playing brave and bold tennis; Nadal wasn’t near his best but he wasn’t disgraced. He was beaten by a better player on the day