Here Is Something Nice

Yesterday at Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro battled for nearly five hours in a truly epic quarterfinal match. (Which I wish I'd had the pleasure of watching!) At the end of five sets (!), Nadal emerged the victor.

And then he walked over to del Potro, who had collapsed on the ground, so they could give each other a big old hug.

The victor and the vanquished. Sportsmanship at its finest.

After four hours and 47 minutes of pure theatre, @RafaelNadal shares a touching embrace with Juan Martin del Potro 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/TykAQAPReH

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 11, 2018

Video Description: Nadal is seen lifting his arms exhaustedly in victory, as the announcer notes that del Potro is "down, and beaten on the ground." Cut to del Potro lying face down on the court. Nadal spies del Potro and clambors over the net and strides toward him. "And Nadal over the net, to see the man who scarcely deserves to lose this great encounter between two giants of the game," says the announcer, as del Potro brings himself to his feet. Nadal pats del Potro on the shoulder, and then they embrace warmly, lying their heads on each other's shoulders. As they pull apart, they keep one arm around each other as they begin to walk across the court, and del Potro cups Nadal's head with his hand. "What a match," says the announcer. "What a match on center court."

They walk over to the judge to shake hands, as the crowd cheers, and the announcer says, "No wild celebrations yet from Nadal; he has too much respect for del Potro and the challenge he has offered. But now, he will salute and celebrate." Nadal drops his racket and stands mid-court, raising his fists triumphantly and dropping his head backwards. The crowd cheers. He breaks his pose and claps his hands together, then leaves the court after his brief celebration, following del Potro.

That's what good sportspersonship looks like. Congratulations to both of them.