Spain's Rafael Nadal waves to the crowd as he leaves the court after losing his first round match against Germany's Alexander Zverev at the French Open in Paris, on May 27.Brown cribbed the cape routine from a revivalist preacher he’d seen as a kid. He’d fall to the stage, exhausted and despondent. The audience would keen with concern.
The Apollo Theatre of Nadal’s farewell tour would be the French Open. No individual athlete has ever owned an event the way Nadal has owned this one – 18 appearances, 14 titles. Nadal played Alexander Zverev in the first round on Monday. Zverev, a robotic Russo-German, is an ideal tennis villain. Here’s a guy the crowd doesn’t feel bad about snubbing.
It only seemed close because Zverev bled Nadal for three hours. By the end, the crowd was hangdog. Their Cinderella lost in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.