Rafael Nadal, well he’s truly the man.
The things he’s done are almost hard to understand.
Felled seven months by injury, to resume tennis only hoping,
yet tonight he’s now won a second US Open.

In Cincinnati I was surprised, somewhat stunned to see
he was playing without tape on that faulty left knee.
“No tape!” I thought, “Now what does this mean?
Are we about to again see the great point machine?”

No one plays points like Rafa Nadal.
He’s a man with a racket obsessed with the ball.
His ability to focus is second to none
whether he’s ahead in the score or under the gun.

The first set of this Open Rafa won six-two
but there was much work still left yet to do.
We’ve seen time and again Nole raise his game.
and this match was destined to be more of the same.

In the second, Nole began to clamp down
now running Rafa around and around.
He played with renewed vigor and desire
as though something had stoked an inner fire.

Rafa for his part chased every ball
hell-bent on returning, if possible, them ALL!
At one point he even sustained a tumbling fall,
yet his eyes remained focused on the incoming ball.

At a crucial time, Nole pressing to break
with there being so much suddenly at stake,
a 54-ball rally produced by these guys
left many including me almost doubting my eyes.

I’d never seen for one point such a fight
leaving all exhausted with awe and delight.
Nole prevailed in that point, exalting with glee
as if that moment in time had now set him free.

He began sprinting, stretching and pummeling the ball,
passionately intent on denying Nadal.
He fed on momentum and leveled the match
having weathered for him a nerve-wracking patch.

He thumped hard on his chest and roared like a beast
now poised above his prey and ready to feast.
Both men may have recited the “Act of Contrition,”
remembering Australia and their “War of Attrition.”

In the nick of time, Nole found his “A” game,
the one that had brought him both fortune and fame.
But Rafa surged in the third and it became abundantly clear
that Nole felt as though he’d been kicked in the rear.

His energy became negative and his posture too.
He looked as though he felt nothing more could he do.
And as the fourth set unfolded, play seemed only a formality,
as Nole and all had accepted the reality.

It was over, the “Point Miester” had worn him down,
his shoulders slumped and he stared at the ground.
Six games to one the final set was scored
as Nole was crushed while Rafa soared.

Rafa didn’t gloat, he’s admirably humble
but when playing the game, it’s 100% rumble.

So “BRAVO” Rafa for all that you’ve done
To be hailed once again as the world number one!

Source: martins take