Nadal And McEnroe A Pair For The Ages
Without question, the most astounding moment of Friday at Wimbledon occurred at 11:30 AM, long before the first ball was struck with purpose on Centre Court.
Court 5 stands amongst the dozen “side courts” that ring Centre and Court 1. They are courts that allow players to feel like creatures in a zoo; spectators walk around the courts in constant conversation while player sometimes no more than 10 feet away are playing a significant match. It toughens some players and weeds out others.
But the proximity is special, achieved nowhere else.
And that’s what drew a throng to Court 5 in the morning. They ringed the court 6-deep and security personnel were preventing people from accessing some perimeter walkways.
The attraction: Rafa Nadal was hitting with John McEnroe.
Think about this: the morning of his Wimbledon semi, a young man born 2 years after Mac’s last Slam title asked the 49-year-old legend to share a warm up hit.
Needless to say, John was flattered. And the Wimbledon ticket holders were entertained.
The moment spoke volumes about Nadal, his respect for the game, even for a champion he never saw play. It speaks to Nadal’s assurance that he was winning to endure the large throng of fans without losing his focus on his match four hours hence. And it speaks to Rafa’s soul that he remembered it was a hit and that he takes pains not to show up a great player more than twice his age.
I watched about 5 minutes, mainly because my 6-3 standing allowed me to see over the crowd. More interesting to me was John’s post-mortem which was my privilege to receive in our NBC booth and some of which John shared on-air.
John repeatedly talked about Nadal’s backhand; the improvement in the stroke now allows him to hit winners from anywhere. And John astutely noted that the better backhand should allow Nadal to not expend energy in hitting run-around forehands.
I have seen John hit with many great players. Rarely have I seen him so impressed. Nothing that happened on the court Friday altered anyone’s view on Nadal. Nor should it with Roger Federer. They are both peaking and it’s a gem when two champions meet with both playing at peak levels. That is what awaits us Sunday. 
