French Open Closes Early on Rafael Nadal
Bill Simmons recently wrote that basketball is a combination of ballet and chess. I say throw in the sweet science of boxing to that mix and you have a damn good description of professional tennis. For me there is no sport that can match it for intensity, emotion, and drama. A great match between great players trumps anything that a team sport like football, baseball, or even basketball can produce. When two racketeers go toe-to-toe, every point is warfare; every serve a battle; every rally a puzzle traveling across court at warp speed. The greats throw body blow after blow until the knockout punch.
Sunday's match at the French Open in Paris was not a great one. The players weren't rivals and there was no feud or score to settle. Only one side of the court held greatness. But sometimes greatness is not enough. Rafael Nadal, the world's top-ranked player and clay court maestro, wore his traditional scowl and nontraditional electric pink shirt and radiant yellow head band that one would swear had to be eith
er
battery charged or radioactive. His opponent was Robin Soderling, an unassuming 24 year old Swede who had never advanced past the third round in a major tournament. The only thing noticeable about Soderling is his resemblance as a taller and lankier version of the Russian assassin in The Bourne Supremecy. How fitting that Soderling eliminated Nadal's quest for history with an icy precision reminiscent of his look-alike.
Rafael Nadal has lost at the French Open. Here's the proof: 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) To grasp what a huge upset this was let me throw some more numbers at you. 31, Nadal's French Open winning streak heading into Sunday's match. That's 31 wins and zero losses, mind you. Since he entered the tournament as an 18-year old in May 2005, the Spaniard had never lost at tennis' most grueling and demanding tournament. His seemingly endless reserves of energy, incredible foot speed, and brutal ground strokes were tailor made for the red clay of Roland-Garros. His four straight titles places him second in the modern era to only Bjorn Borg who has six. 32, Straight sets won- dating back to 2007. That's almost two years at a major tennis tournament without losing a single set. He has never played a fifth set at the French Open. It is a period of dominance in the sport with few parallels.
Then along came rockin' Robin. A nobody. The Buster Douglas of the tennis circuit
. When your chances are slim and none, take slim and just knock the hell out of it. Using a dominant service game with 1st serves routinely north of 140 mph and 2nd serves around 125(!), Soderling was playing with no margin for error. His barrage of wide, sweeping forehand hammers kept Nadal on his heels for the entirity of the 3 and 1/2 hour match. The slammin' Swede not only scored 61 winners (compared to Nadal's 33) on one of the game's all time great defensive players, but took advantage of Rafa's weak service game to break him for 5 games. The Spanish maestro looked human as his shoddy footwork led to frequent mishits and many unforced errors.
What does this mean in the long term? Not much. Nadal's invincibility is gone which may or may not help his opponents pysche in the future. He is still the best player in the world. He will retain his No. 1 ranking no matter who wins this year's tournament. He's only 22 and just entering his prime years as a pro. His major rival, Roger Federer, is on the downside of his career and has crumbled lately in their major showdowns.
In the short term however Federer seems like the big winner. With his main rival out of the way the stage is set for him to finally complete his career slam and win the elusive French Open title he covets. It was always Nadal, defiantly standing between Federer and his prize. In '05 they met in the semifinals and Rafa knocked him out on his way to his first trophy. In '06,'07, and '08 they met in the finals with Nadal winning each matchup. Now if he can navigate the rest of the draw, including a likely matchup with Andy Roddick in the next round, he can capture his 14th grand slam title tying him with Pete Sampras as the all time leader.
Or maybe not. Maybe rockin' Robin Soderling turns into Rocky with a raquet. He's still got a long road and he'll be the underdog no matter who he faces in the coming week. Just give him a chance. Even Buster Douglas got to wear the belt for awhile. How do you say "Yo, Adrian!!!" in Sweedish?
Bill Simmons recently wrote that basketball is a combination of ballet and chess. I say throw in the sweet science of boxing to that mix and you have a damn good description of professional tennis. For me there is no sport that can match it for intensity, emotion, and drama. A great match between great players trumps anything that a team sport like football, baseball, or even basketball can produce. When two racketeers go toe-to-toe, every point is warfare; every serve a battle; every rally a puzzle traveling across court at warp speed. The greats throw body blow after blow until the knockout punch.
Sunday's match at the French Open in Paris was not a great one. The players weren't rivals and there was no feud or score to settle. Only one side of the court held greatness. But sometimes greatness is not enough. Rafael Nadal, the world's top-ranked player and clay court maestro, wore his traditional scowl and nontraditional electric pink shirt and radiant yellow head band that one would swear had to be eith
er
battery charged or radioactive. His opponent was Robin Soderling, an unassuming 24 year old Swede who had never advanced past the third round in a major tournament. The only thing noticeable about Soderling is his resemblance as a taller and lankier version of the Russian assassin in The Bourne Supremecy. How fitting that Soderling eliminated Nadal's quest for history with an icy precision reminiscent of his look-alike.Rafael Nadal has lost at the French Open. Here's the proof: 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) To grasp what a huge upset this was let me throw some more numbers at you. 31, Nadal's French Open winning streak heading into Sunday's match. That's 31 wins and zero losses, mind you. Since he entered the tournament as an 18-year old in May 2005, the Spaniard had never lost at tennis' most grueling and demanding tournament. His seemingly endless reserves of energy, incredible foot speed, and brutal ground strokes were tailor made for the red clay of Roland-Garros. His four straight titles places him second in the modern era to only Bjorn Borg who has six. 32, Straight sets won- dating back to 2007. That's almost two years at a major tennis tournament without losing a single set. He has never played a fifth set at the French Open. It is a period of dominance in the sport with few parallels.
Then along came rockin' Robin. A nobody. The Buster Douglas of the tennis circuit
. When your chances are slim and none, take slim and just knock the hell out of it. Using a dominant service game with 1st serves routinely north of 140 mph and 2nd serves around 125(!), Soderling was playing with no margin for error. His barrage of wide, sweeping forehand hammers kept Nadal on his heels for the entirity of the 3 and 1/2 hour match. The slammin' Swede not only scored 61 winners (compared to Nadal's 33) on one of the game's all time great defensive players, but took advantage of Rafa's weak service game to break him for 5 games. The Spanish maestro looked human as his shoddy footwork led to frequent mishits and many unforced errors.What does this mean in the long term? Not much. Nadal's invincibility is gone which may or may not help his opponents pysche in the future. He is still the best player in the world. He will retain his No. 1 ranking no matter who wins this year's tournament. He's only 22 and just entering his prime years as a pro. His major rival, Roger Federer, is on the downside of his career and has crumbled lately in their major showdowns.
In the short term however Federer seems like the big winner. With his main rival out of the way the stage is set for him to finally complete his career slam and win the elusive French Open title he covets. It was always Nadal, defiantly standing between Federer and his prize. In '05 they met in the semifinals and Rafa knocked him out on his way to his first trophy. In '06,'07, and '08 they met in the finals with Nadal winning each matchup. Now if he can navigate the rest of the draw, including a likely matchup with Andy Roddick in the next round, he can capture his 14th grand slam title tying him with Pete Sampras as the all time leader.
Or maybe not. Maybe rockin' Robin Soderling turns into Rocky with a raquet. He's still got a long road and he'll be the underdog no matter who he faces in the coming week. Just give him a chance. Even Buster Douglas got to wear the belt for awhile. How do you say "Yo, Adrian!!!" in Sweedish?
Tennis, eh? Interesting choice.
Oh, and I guess I'm Big Daddy.
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