In Greek mythology, there is character by the name Sisyphus, the king of Ephyra, who, as a punishment, was forced to roll a huge boulder up a steep hill, only to watch it roll back down from the peak.
So down he has to go again and roll it back up, in a back-and-forth that he is condemned to repeat for eternity.
There are echoes of that tale in Rafael Nadal’s career – only the boulder part, for there is no suggestion that our King of Clay, like Sisyphus, is being punished.
Instead, this seems like a curse as Nadal keeps making that punishing climb up the hill, with his succession of injuries, only to find himself knocked down from the summit by another one.
"In 2012, I was playing great, I had a big chance of being No 1 in the world, but I got injured for seven months," Nadal said in an interview with the Times of India this month.
“In 2014 again, I was No 1 of the race, then I broke my wrist practising in Mallorca ...
“So it’s OK. I have missed much more important tournaments in my career compared to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer because they didn’t miss nothing during their careers.”
Nadal was No 1 in 2009 as well when a quadriceps tendinitis in both knees forced him out of action for three months.
He could not defend his Wimbledon crown and slipped down the rankings.
That same tendinitis problems first surfaced in 2005 and 2006, and led to speculation about his early retirement, but the determined Spaniard went against medical advice to make a comeback.
Nadal, of course, is not complaining.
Far from it.
“It’s not right to feel unlucky,” he said. “I feel very lucky about all the things that happened to me.
“I still got 14 grand slams and an Olympic gold, so I did much more than I ever dreamt.”
Still, there must be a sense of “what if”.
Since winning his first major at the French Open in 2005 he has missed five majors, four World Tour Finals and the 2012 Olympic Games because of injuries.
It is a miracle he is still playing.
Nadal’s catalogue of injuries is long: appendicitis, wrist, stem cell treatment for his back, shoulder and repeated surgeries on his wobbly knee.
And not many would wager on an injury-free season for the world No 5 in 2016.
Still, most fans of tennis will wish he does have a successful, pain-free year, for he has suffered more than enough in 2015.
For the first time since his first major success in 2005, Nadal finished the year without a major title.
He did not even make it to the semis at any of those four majors.
He suffered more losses this season (20) than in any other year of his career on the World Tour and, for the first time in more than a decade, he ended the year ranked outside the top four. Battling his doubts and insecurities, he had slumped to as low as No 10 in June, his lowest ranking since April, 2005.
There has been some positive signs in the post-US Open period, however, especially at the World Tour Finals where he beat Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray in straight sets and reached the semi-finals.
“This year I have been more worried about myself than the opponents for a lot of matches,” he said at the World Tour Finals in London last month.
“Today I feel free.”
Those words must be music to the ears of Nadal’s fans, especially his supporters here in the UAE, who will be out in full force on New Year’s Day to watch the Spaniard start his season at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi.
Hopefully, he will start the year free of his Sisyphean curse as well.
Amen to that.
arizvi@thenational.ae
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