Midnight was approaching on Friday. Rafael Nadal was safely back in a United States Open final after wearing down the dangerous Juan Martín del Potro, and the next generation of Nadals was eager to get back on the court.
As Nadal’s coach and uncle, Toni, stopped in the corridor outside the men’s locker room to answer a few of my questions, his two young sons, whipped their rackets out of their bags and raced up the hallway to the now-darkened Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“They want to play at night,” Toni Nadal said, chuckling.
In theory, this should be a nostalgic moment for all the Nadals, because, in theory, this is Toni Nadal’s last Grand Slam tournament as his nephew’s full-time coach.