Rafael Nadal remembered September 11, 25 years on

Rafael Nadal’s first chance to earn an ATP point ended in defeat, but the match became inseparable from his memory of September 11, 2001. The Spaniard was 15 and still beginning his career on the ITF circuit when the day’s events changed the meaning of that result within hours.

Nadal lost in three sets, 6-2, 5-7, 2-6, after saving 13 match points. He did not leave empty-handed: the match brought him $117, the first prize cheque of a career that would eventually produce 92 ATP titles, including 22 Grand Slam trophies and 14 French Open victories. His career earnings later approached $135 million.

After the match, Nadal watched television coverage of the attacks in the United States, where two hijacked airliners struck New York’s Twin Towers and nearly 3,000 people died. The defeat had initially weighed heavily on him because of what the first ATP point represented. Seeing the tragedy made that disappointment disappear immediately.

The memory also carried a personal connection. Nadal had visited New York and gone to the top of the Twin Towers only a month earlier. Twenty-five years on, the day is remembered through both the beginning of his professional journey and the tragedy that overshadowed it.