Rafael Nadal: Competitive Tennis More Important Right Now Than Titles

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: March 19, 2013

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It seems so long ago now when each and every of Rafael Nadal's updates on his injury situation that informed us of the lengthening of his sabbatical from tennis was met constantly with feelings ranging from disappointment to disbelief to irritation.

Irritation about allegations of underhandedness purported by "fans" looking for a quick reaction. And in many ways, I for one am thankful that time seems so long ago.

I've always believed that as fans we do a disservice to the players we support and the sport we love by placing high premiums on winning as if it is the only end result in life.

Even we ourselves don't win each and every day—no day goes by when a stockbroker doesn't lose out on a sale,, or a commuter on the bus or train doesn't get muscled out of a seat or a child gets a question wrong on a test—yet we blindside ourselves into setting the standards high for others when even we can't jump them.

I'm guilty of it. I can think of numerous instances when I have berated a player for a perceived lack of effort and written others off because of the absence of actions that fit my definition of the right attitude. It is with this circumspection that I believe Nadal's return to competition needs to be put in the proper context.

 

Expectations

A player's profile certainly plays a part on the expectation levels that accompany them wherever they go. In the case of Nadal, given his record on clay, it wasn't unexpected that the expectation on his return to competition at Vina Del Mar was high.



He lost the final of that tournament, and my sense of the general tennis reaction was one of exasperation, which was a little saddening. Of course people will claim that Nadal would have expected to win that title deep down even if he wouldn't have verbalized that view, and they would have been right—but they also would have been wrong.

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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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