The former tennis pro was looking to settle down after retiring last year. Now, from an undisclosed spot in Kyiv, he has joined other athletes in Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
On Sunday, Rafael Nadal, now 35, played in the finals of the BNP Paribas Open, staged in the tennis utopia of Indian Wells, Calif. And, on Sunday, the man who beat Nadal at that event in 2014, now 33, was “carrying protection” and seeking sanctuary at a location he preferred not to disclose near the nucleus of Kyiv. He had to stop our interview multiple times because of disconcerting noises he overheard.