Rudyard Kipling's poem "If—" greets players as they walk onto Centre Court at Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal has won two titles on that hallowed ground. But he has no time for the word that anchors the famous poem.
"The problem is 'if,' " he said, in response to a hypothetical press-conference question. "'If' doesn't exist in this world. The word 'if' is very dangerous."
That was after his quarterfinal win over friend Diego Schwartzman, when 6-foot-1 Nadal was asked if he would have won if he was six inches shorter, to match the Argentine's height.
After his semifinal victory over Italy's Matteo Berrettini, another hypothetical came his way.
"If one day you end up with the most Grand Slams..."
Nadal rolled his eyes. His answer, in imperfect English, perfectly summed up his philosphy on the game, and life in general.
"I always say the same: we still playing. Here we are. When I arrived here, my goal was to produce a chance to compete for the big thing again. Here I am."
A similar line, and a Rafa all-timer, came this spring at the Rome Masters, when he was still seeking—and eventually won—his first title of 2019, coming off of early exits (that is, semifinal exits) on the clay of Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid.
"What happened in Monte Carlo happened. What happened in Barcelona happened. What happened in Madrid happened. And here we are. We are in Rome." The response went viral, made all the more endearing by Nadal's elongated pronounciation of "happen-ed." (Nadal's stress on the final, past-tense syllable may be telling: to him, those tournaments were firmly in the past.)
These are Rafa-speak versions of the classic existential quote, which goes something like: "Wherever you go, there you are."
MORE PHOTOS: Nadal vs. Berrettini | Nadal vs. Schwartzman
Just 33, Nadal's omniprescence at the top of men's tennis, and his age-old wisdom, make it seem like he has been here forever. His relaxed perspective on his career means that success does not define him, and it may be a big part of the reason he has so much of it.
"I give myself another chance," he said of his final run in New York. "That's the personal satisfaction. That's the personal happiness.
"You win, you lose. That's part of all the sport. Of course, I would love to be the one who achieve more Grand Slams, but I still sleep very well without being the one who have more Grand Slams.
"I am happy about my career. I am very happy about what I'm doing."
Before leaving the press room on Friday night, he dropped another gem, this one reminiscent of the Ten Commandments.
"I would love to be the one to have more, yes, but you cannot be all day frustrated or all day thinking about what's your neighbor have better than you. You have to be happy with yourself. You have to do your way. If you are the one to achieve more, fantastic. If not, at least I give my best during all my career. That's all."
It's not the first time Nadal has made a remark to that effect. Perhaps his somewhat limited English causes him to occassionally repeat similar lines. But there's beauty in the simplicity, and if he repeats himself, it's only because his words ring so true. After all, clichés become clichés for a reason.
As Nadal enters Arthur Ashe Stadium for his fifth US Open final, he will be greeted by Billie Jean King's iconic words: "Pressure is a privilege."
The privilege has been ours, to watch this great champion. No "ifs," ands or buts.
Video Playlist: Rafael Nadal's 2019 US Open Press Conferences
