The article which should have been in every french daily

Dear mister Nadal,
By Bart Lagae, Het Nieuwsblad
June 3, 2009

Dear Rafa,
We’re writing you with deep feelings of sympathy and guilt. We’re ashamed for not having done this sooner. Luckily, it’s never too late to say sorry. Therefor, today – on your 23rd birthday – we’re asking your forgiveness: perdón, perdón, perdón. lo sentimos mucho.We shouldn’t have howled along with the wolves on Sunday after your defeat against Robin Söderling. Or in this case: along with the morons in the stands of Court Phillipe Chatrier. Your Court Philippe Chatrier. The temple where you wrote history 4 years long.The booing you received when you left Paris is a disgrace to the sport. The cheers for Söderling are at least surreal. You only have to think back to your match in the clay court tournament in Rome and watch one of the dirtiest tricks in the history of men’s tennis Söderling tried against you (follow the link above to find that video).Contrary to Söderling, you proved that a tennis player should not only be great in victory but also in defeat. Because you were great in defeat. More and more people bear witness to that after having watched it with their own eyes.Dick Norman said that you – even though you were in a rush to get back to Mallorca – still took the time out to thank every employee in the players lounge personally. This is the sort of courtesy they can never expect to get from Robin Söderling. The (security) people at the gates of Roland Garros know very well that each morning when you come in, you greet everybody whereas Robin Söderling never even nodded at anybody.We have to shiver when we see how Robin Söderling is described as a great guy with the face of an angel. When we met him in the hotel we shared – he came out of the elevator – we nearly suffocated in a cloud of sulfur and tar. It is high time that one thing has to be said clearly: in the world of tennis, devils are described as saints and the good souls as sinners.Compared with the “friendly Federer”, you were always described as that brutish animal. The beast who was only busy with his own game and who never took the time out for others. Do tennis fans not know how different it really is behind the scenes? That you’re always prepared to give autographs after a training session, whereas Roger Federer stopped doing that years ago? That you live more for your sport than your everlasting rival? That you are where you deserve to be: at the top of the ATP world ranking?From a good source, we know that you cried non-stop in the taxi on the way from your hotel to the airport. This only proves how deeply the defeat and the behavior of the crowd affected you. It also proves how courageous you behaved in those first hours after your defeat. Roger Federer also cries, but only in the presence of cameras.For this and for so much more, for having written nothing and for having howled along with the wolves in the forest, I ask you: perdón, perdón, perdón. Maybe, some tennis fans will change their mind about you. Quizás, quizás, quizás
With the most humble greetings,
Bart LagaeParis,
in a dark little cellar under the Court Phillippe Chatrier
June 3, 2009