Nadal, Murray, Wawrinka: il 2024 sarà l’anno di grandi addii?

The month of January started with high expectations, the Spanish multi-champion made his comeback at the Brisbane 250 tournament after a long period of absence from competition. And it cannot be denied that, albeit with caution, many of his fans were hoping for a more glorious return. Murray and Wawrinka, on the other hand, started the season with some difficulties (just ask the Scot) and despite their iron will, they gathered little from their matches. Djokovic, still at the top of the ATP rankings and the recent winner of the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards, was overwhelmed by some unexpected defeats and admitted to very disappointing performances. The bitter defeat in the semifinals of the last Australian Open against Jannik Sinner, and the surprising loss to another Italian player, Luca Nardi, in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters.

How tough it is to call it quits.

Journalists and commentators have been racking their brains for some time now, trying to glean the slightest hint that indicates a definite retirement date for these great champions. It is obligatory to ask questions during press conferences that may even subtly allude to the subject to draw essential information. How many times have we heard references to advancing age, comparisons with the new talents on the circuit, emphasizing – if not pointing a finger directly at – the failures that may have caused so much anger and frustration.

“Obviously, I still love competing and I still love the game, but it becomes increasingly difficult as you age to compete with young guys and keep your body in shape and fresh,” said the 36-year-old Murray.

There are also hordes of passionate fans who are restless and live the issue with apprehension. Every day the official bulletin is awaited, because the news about a possible retirement draws substance from any event: training sessions, spontaneous statements through their social channels, public appearances.

We know well that the end of a career, especially if lived at the highest levels and with great intensity, is never easy to face. It almost feels like it is tremendously difficult to make a decision choosing times and ways that are consistent with one’s own journey. On the one hand, there is an irresistible desire to continue winning and be competitive protagonists, on the other hand, the evidence of a natural psycho-physical decline that takes over. There comes a time when the spirit can only do what the body allows. This is very well narrated by two other greats of this sport, Agassi and Sampras, in their autobiographies. Federer has lived it magnificently.

“Life without the game, life without the fans, and life without the schedule that has dominated my existence for 25 years was certainly something I didn’t know how to take,” explained the Swiss. “For a long time, I tried to come back and give it another try and leave the game healthy, but it wasn’t feasible.”

Federer has closed on his grass, will Nadal choose his beloved clay?

In 2021, Federer was eagerly awaited on the London grass, having triumphed at Wimbledon eight times between 2003 and 2017. Back then, this tournament (along with the Tokyo Olympics) remained the biggest goal of the season as well as the ideal setting for a perfect ending, but he had to give in to Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals, suffering a resounding 6-0 in the third set (a first on this stage in his career). Surely the desire, his and the many fans of this sport, would have been to see him battle for the title one last time against Djokovic, potentially seeking revenge against the Serb for what happened in 2019. Fate took a different course, the one we all know, but many hoped for a different outcome.

We find ourselves in the present: the other member of the golden trio at 37 years old, with a body sore from injuries, knows that 2024 is his last chance. Rafa Nadal, who after the painful defeat in Barcelona declared, “if I have to give it my all, die on the court and leave tennis, it won’t be today, but in Paris, at Roland Garros,” embodies the heroic fighter.

The serene green of Wimbledon belongs to Federer as the red and bloody clay of Paris belongs to Nadal. History repeats itself and could follow the same trajectory. The two, inseparably linked in their sporting lives, remain close even in their athletic demise. The dream of one last great feat that could shatter in the face of reality presenting the bill. At the Madrid tournament, another conquest ground for the Spaniard, Nadal will face 16-year-old American Darwin Blanch in the first round. This draw almost seemed like a taunt, the age difference between the two is enormous. If he were to lose, the effect would be amplified. Nadal has already admitted in a press conference that it will be his last time in Madrid.

Stan becoming more of a Man and less of a Tennis player

Another great protagonist – alas, much less victorious – of this luminous era was dedicated a passionate article: “Letter (of love) to Stan Wawrinka. If we were to say goodbye to you (and thank you)?”, referring to the absence of the Swiss tennis player from the Geneva Tournament since 2019. Journalist Simon Meier, in a heartfelt and unfiltered appeal, begs Stan the man to return one last time because time is running out.

“Certainly, I don’t want to push you out, Stan. I have immense respect for your longevity, whether it is due to your passion for the game, fear of the void, or both. But you and I know that all this will end.”

The piece ends with an emblematic phrase: “a twilight can be sublime with the people who love you around” and echoes Roger Federer’s words to reporters in New York: “In the end, I felt relieved, I think, and happy to retire. It ended in the most perfect way at the Laver Cup. I was surrounded by my greatest rivals, my family, and my friends. For me, it was like: “Okay, I’m good now. I no longer need to scratch that itch.”

Regardless of how it will end, even if far from what we imagined and from what they themselves expected, for the magic to persist it will only be necessary to keep the bond alive, and their supporters have always been masters at that.