Paris – Reception, applause, tears may have been going on for hours. On Thursday, after Richard Gasquet’s second round defeat with Janik Thinner, Roland Garros’ even more beloved son was recognized as one of his own in the final act on the tennis court.
Court Philippe-Chatrier was praised by Gasquet, 38. It was an pour of love and nostalgia for a man who arrived on the scene at the age of 15 and resigned without expecting a silverware, but it was one of the most astounding backhands we see.
Later that day, 38-year-old Gael Monfils unleashed a bag of magic tricks against 16-year junior player Jack Draper. Chatrier fans were fascinated by Monfils. Gasquet’s last man, Giles Simon, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Quartet – one of their favourite sons hopes to somehow remind him of another memorable victory on the home court. A flick of the Monfils wrist could turn the place into a deafening din of French worship.
You don’t need to look at the scoreboard to know when a French player is in court. That small part of Roland Garros turns into a greenhouse of tricolor enthusiasm. “Lamarsailers” drift across the premises, and you can hear the chant “Arez Rebrus.” However, it takes time for Roland Garros to be truly loved as a foreigner. For Rafael Nadal, it was 20 years worth of title, sweat and tears, and won Chatrier a statue and plaque.
“I think the French have a strong sense of the country – strong national sentiment.” “For people who are not French, I think it will take a long time to acquire this affection. I don’t know if it will take 14 years or if it will take 14 titles, but it will be very difficult for people who are not French.”
I respect past champions. However, Iga Swiatek has four titles here, nearly a third towards Nadal’s Jaw-Dropping 14, but it doesn’t feel like she’s been adopted as her own. After a round two match with Emma Radukanu, in her post-match interview on the court, there was an eerie silence after her first answer. She waved her arms as much as she said, “Hello?” And the crowd responded with cheers.
Her tennis is one of the focuses. She is trapped and rarely shows any emotion. That’s her way and why she’s incredible. Fans seem to have praise and wonder about Swiatek’s advantage, but you feel they are still learning to love her here. Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva are popular, but each requires the title of Roland Garros to begin their journey being recruited by the crowd here. Even in his retirement, only Nadal still has this place in his palm.
We are in the Twilight Zone of Post-Nadal, but his presence here is everywhere. A year after his retirement, from pictures decorating his coats to Nadal’s hats and random nostalgic cry of “Vamothrafa!”, another ceremony was held in his honor last Sunday, with its permanent tribute, Nadal’s footsteps – added next to the Chattoria net post.
But even Nadal had to acquire that love.
“I’ve always been respected, but it’s true that in the first few years I felt the crowd wanted to beat Roger (Federer),” Nadal said on Sunday. “In some way, they wanted to lose to me, probably because if they lost here, Roger felt they had a better chance. Roger won in 2009. I think they started treating me completely differently afterwards.
Sitting in the crowd for Nadal’s farewell was French open champions Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz. Alkaraz may be someone who challenges Nadal’s crown but hasn’t yet tried it. He was asked if he could imagine winning 14 titles. “That’s something you can’t think of…that is, one man on Earth can do it, and you can’t imagine it (do it).”
And there are others who break through on the man’s side. Over the past week, no one has been interested in Roland Garros as much as 18-year-old Joao Fonseca from Brazil. His first two matches were hundreds of deep. The audience crept through the outside courthouse, hoping to get a glimpse of the wonder. One couple flew from Brazil and took in what they wanted to be his second round match. They filmed as many tickets as possible throughout the courtroom to be safe.
Arthur Phils is also growing his fan base here. But again, like Gasquet, Monfil, Simon, and Tsonga, he benefits from being a hope of the house. He has the personality and ability to step into their void as Roland Garros’ beloved beloved, but not in the same way as Nadal.
“In Rafa, that was another case. His personality, his charisma – I think they adopted him as the son of Paris,” Lopez said. “What happened here with Nadal at Roland Garros will never happen again. We certainly won’t see anyone who has won 14 times, and no one will win the affection of people like him.”
It seems there is a common theme to talk to the audience here and be truly loved as an outsider: longevity, the ability to overcome adversity, and gratitude to Roland Garros. For some reason, Nadal encapsulated all these traits.
At his press conference after the farewell, Nadal was asked if anyone thinks that everyone would match his record here.
“At the end, when I come back to my place to see me again, I want to remember as a person that people are happy, and that’s important,” Nadal said. “It can happen to win 14 Grand Slams in the same place here at Roland Garros, but you need luck too.