Phenomenal would be an understatement to describe Rafael Nadal’s La Decima in Roland Garros. There is no greater joy than watching the King of Clay at his best on red dirt, that too on his most-successful ground. The Spaniard’s second coming felt like rereading a classic after a gap, and realising how its words and characters take a different hue each time, as our lives and perceptions evolve with time.

This year, there was little doubt over whether history would be made in the Philippe Chatrier court, and people are revelling in the return of their king. When Nadal is playing his best, he is invincible on clay, making Gustavo Kuerten remark famously, “He is from another planet; he has a spaceship parked somewhere.”

At a glance, Nadal’s 10 French Open titles look fathomable, for we are used to his legendary status as a player. The image of him with The Musketeers’ Trophy has been imprinted on our minds that anything else seem like a deviation from the normal.But that doesn’t mean it was easy. Don’t get fooled by those dauntless images of Nadal you see now. For two seasons, the former No: 1 was denied the pleasure of biting his favourite trophy.

The Decima talk has been going on since 2015, but Nadal stumbled twice standing on the threshold of history; Novak Djokovic toppled him in the quarter-finals in 2015, and the following year, he was forced to withdraw owing to an injured wrist, which the Spaniard later recalled as his most-painful year in Roland Garros.

It wasn’t really surprising to watch Djokovic besting Nadal rather easily two years back, for the clay court supremo was merely a spectre of his otherwise matador-esque self that year. It was also a season where Nadal failed to win a single title on clay in Europe.

Years of unparalleled success on clay had given a superhuman aura to the Spaniard, hence, coming to terms with his vulnerability on his best surface seemed a bit odd initially.

Adding to that were his despondent quotes, that exposed his Achilles heel.

“My forehand has been my biggest virtue, but it wasn’t a forehand worthy of my ranking and career. This is a blow, but I accept the challenge and the negative day I had. No other way forward other than to accept it or die,” Nadal said, after his defeat to Fabio Fognini in the third round of the 2015 Barcelona Open.

Such quotes heralded the dwindling of the fear factor associated with the legendary player. Needles to say, his rivals capitalised on that chink in the armour, and the 14-Grand Slam champion started losing his momentum.

It isn’t just his lethal forehand that makes Nadal a revered one, but also his determination. He had been reiterating he would leave no stone unturned, every time when faced with a question on his comeback. But the hardest part was the wait; two seasons passed without any significant change, until the 2017 Australian Open, his first Grand Slam final appearance after almost three years.

Not that Nadal hadn’t experienced slump before, but even during those times, he was unstoppable at the French Open. But the second time, the road to recovery was longer; three years divide his 14th Grand Slam win and the 15th, his ninth and tenth French Open titles.

When I asked a jubilant Nadal whether he ever doubted his abilities in winning another Major while going through his tough days, he replied:

“I have been very honest with you all the time. I have doubts every day. The doubts, I think, are good, because the doubts give you the possibility to work with more intensity, with being more humble, and accepting that you need to keep working hard to improve things.”

“For sure I have doubts. During that three years, I had doubts. Right now, I’m gonna have doubts even in a few days, because in tennis every week is a new story and that’s part of the beautiful thing of our sport.”

Even for the 10-time French Open champion, life doesn’t offer clarity, yet, he believes the doubts over what lies ahead made him what he is.

His battle with doubts, and the long wait indeed add more zest to his victory.

Anyone who has faced setbacks in life can empathise with Nadal’s Grand Slam drought. Although we like our heroes to be perennial, it is equally inspiring to see their human side, to be reminded that everyone has a battle to fight and life doesn’t always let people to rest on their laurels as it keeps throwing challenges.

All for the aforementioned reason, there is more to Nadal’s win beyond his personal glory. It also signifies the triumph of the human will.