I know I'm a few days late in posting about this, but I wanted my little blog to record that Rafa was presented with the "Grand Vermeil" medal, which is the most prestigious honour that the city of Paris can bestow onto an individual.
Very well done, Rafa. And very well deserved.
Roland Garros is one of the oldest and most traditional of all tennis tournaments. It's played on a surface considered for "specialists" and certainly during my time growing up and following the game, it was one of those "meh" tournaments that obscure Europeans won and were never to be heard of again outside of a clay court. But Rafa changed all that. I'm sure that at the start of his career, he was just considered likewise but history has proven different.
In my opinion, he single-handedly brought the French Open back to the prestigious level it values today. Never before was there the interest in it that it holds now, and sadly for Rafa, its always from a negative angle. It's always about who will beat him ... not about rejoicing in his achievement. But it is what it is, and it's still something very, very special to him and frankly the tennis world will probably never see the like of his record at a single Slam ever again. So I'm pleased that Paris at least has honoured him. Bravo Rafa!
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