Nadal: Murray will be a big loss
Rafa Nadal knew it was inevitable that sooner or later the Big Four would become the Big Three.
That Andy Murray is the first of the long-time leading four in men’s tennis to signal the end of his career is something Nadal has to keep in perspective.
The No 2-ranked Nadal enters the Australian Open starting today as a legitimate title contender along with No 1-ranked Novak Djokovic and No 3-ranked Roger Federer, both six-time champions at Melbourne Park. Nadal is 32. Djokovic turns 32 in May, a week or so after Murray. Federer is 37.
Five-time finalist Murray plans to start the tournament in Australia, but he has conceded it could be his last after 20 months of struggling to overcome a longtime injury. The severe pain from his surgically repaired right hip is restricting his movement and he has already flagged he’ll retire after Wimbledon – if he can keep playing that long.
Murray practiced at Melbourne Park at the weekend not long before Nadal appeared at a news conference to talk about his health after three months out of competitive tennis and his prospects at the Australian Open.
‘‘Yeah, of course is very bad news,’’ Nadal said of Murray’s tearful news conference last week. ‘‘Will be a very important loss for us, for the world of tennis, for the tour, for the fans, even for the rivals that he have been part of a great rivalry between the best players for a long time, and a great competitor.
‘‘But being honest, when somebody like him, that he achieved almost everything in his tennis career, is suffering like he’s doing for such a long time already . . . probably he does the right thing for his mental health.’’
Nadal has missed long periods because of injuries throughout his career, still managing to amass 17 major titles, but has never contemplated a date for retirement.
‘‘I didn’t arrive to that point. I am a positive guy. I always had the feeling that we’ll fix it,’’ he said. ‘‘But, of course, there is periods of time that you don’t see the light.’’
Federer has credited improvements in travel, in nutrition and in life balance for giving modern tennis players the ability to extend their careers well into their 30s. He was 35 and coming off a long injury layoff when he revived his career with an Australian Open title in 2017. He successfully defended the title last year, his 20th major.
Nadal’s plan for longevity revolves around playing fewer tournaments and resting whenever he has persistent injuries. That became less of an option for Murray, who is contemplating further surgery just to cut down on the pain he feels when he’s doing such simple things as putting on his shoes and socks.
‘‘Seems like he had not very long career because today players are playing that long. But he’s 31 – 10 years ago, if he retired at 31, we will say he had a great and very long career,’’ Nadal said.
‘‘We will miss him. But today is him. Tomorrow another one. We are not 20 anymore. Our generation, everyone is more than
30s.’’
The Big Four have dominated the men’s circuit for more than a decade and shared around the major titles with few exceptions, such as Stan Wawrinka’s wins at the 2014 Australian Open, the 2015 French and the 2016 U.S Open, and Marin Cilic’s victory at the
2014 US Open.
There’s a crop of other players coming through, including No
4-ranked Sasha Zverev, but much of the attention in the first the couple of days at Melbourne Park will be on Nadal, Murray and Djokovic – who went through juniors together – and Federer.
Nadal will open against Australian James Duckworth in the second match on Rod Laver Arena today. Federer has a night match against Denis Istomin on the same centre court.
Murray is scheduled to play No 22-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut today at Melbourne Arena, the third of the show courts. Djokovic is on the other side of the draw and will start tomorrow.
Wellington Phoenix coach Mark Rudan threw his fist in the air as he marched past the Yellow Fever on his way off the Westpac Stadium pitch on Saturday night.
‘‘I was looking up at them and thought ‘let’s get the guys going a little bit’. I don’t normally do that, I’m not normally an emotional or sentimental type but they deserved it,’’ Rudan said.
‘‘It was good to see a smile on their faces. It is a proud city and it’s a proud country and football in this country deserves a lot more. It’s been kicked from pillar to post and we’re just a representation of this whole country.’’
The Phoenix produced a stunning second-half comeback to beat the winless Central Coast Mariners 3-2 and extend their unbeaten A-League record to eight games, with the sending off of Mariners defender Kye Rowles a massive turning point on a night where Andrew Durante celebrated a milestone
300th A-League appearance. Roy Krishna further highlighted his importance to the Phoenix by scoring twice from the penalty spot, while his storming run also sparked the matchwinning goal scored by strike partner David Williams as the Phoenix stormed back from a
2-0 halftime deficit to score three unanswered goals.
But as pleased as Rudan was to set a new benchmark by going eight games without a defeat, the passionate coach said he was more proud of the fact he has brought the belief back to the club.
‘‘When I bought into this I bought into it wholeheartedly and the fans were no different,’’ he said. ‘‘From afar you’ve seen just how much pain and hurt not just the players have gone through, but there’s some really good people in the back office there who work hard and the coaching staff as well – but these fans, they’ve waited a bit of time.
‘‘They were patient at the start of the season as well but I think now they can sense and believe just as those players in the dressing room believe as well. Obviously there’s a lot of games and a lot of football to be played as well but you can only take the moments that come your way and they are the moments you need to enjoy.
‘‘What we’re trying to do is for all the football [followers] in this country, and that’s one thing I wrote down, can you make an