Australian Tennis Magazine

May 2004

By: Evonne Barry

European teens Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet already display man-sized potential � and they are both primed for a big showing at this month�s French Open.

All the talent in the world does not make the biggest leap in tennis any easier. Few juniors have been rated more highly in recent years than Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet. Both 17, the talented Europeans are hoping to hit their straps at their version of the Holy Grail, Roland Garros, this month.

But their campaigns will follow what have been intense apprenticeships.

Spain�s Nadal and France�s Gasquet have both been hailed future champions of the game. Born just 15 days apart, the duo�s progress has been simultaneously scrutinised for several years. Fittingly, even their dimensions are the same; both are listed at 182cm and 75kg.

But while their potential is seemingly on a par, the teenagers� fulfilment of it is yet to match up. While Gasquet made great strides in his debut year of 2002, it is the left-handed �Rafa� who is creating the most excitement.

The Spaniard bulleted into the top 50 last year, claming scalps including his compatriot and idol, Carlos Moya, Younes El Aynoui, Albert Costa, Karol Kucera and Magnus Norman. He posted second and third round showings at his first two Grand Slam events. And Moya billed him a future World Number 1.

But for Gasquet, 2003 was something of a letdown. Although he was the youngest player to finish inside the top 100 (93), he did not pick up where he left off in his debut year.

Gasquet had swept all before him in the junior ranks, finishing 2002 as world champion after taking the French and US open titles. But it was his impact on the senior draw that had most tennis heads talking.

At 15 years and 10 months, Gasquet became the youngest player ever to qualify for a Tennis Masters Series event, in Monte Carlo. (He beat Franco Squillari to become the youngest player to win a match at that level in 14 years). The following month, he made his Grand Slam debut, at home in Paris, stretching eventual champion Albert Costa to four sets. (That made him the second youngest player ever to compete in the main draw at Roland Garros). Along the way, he shaved 1137 points off his ranking, ending the year at 166.

But at the same time (according t the unfair standards often applied to young hopefuls) Nadal�s performance was the poorer.

He was a prolific winner on the Futures Circuit in 2002, but his impact on the main draw was not as striking.

How things changed in 2003, when the prot�g�s reversed their roles.

At Wimbledon, Nadal became the youngest player (at 17) to reach the third round since 16-year-old Boris Becker in 1984. (The German great won it the following year.) In July, he made his first quarter final showing, in Bastad, following up two weeks later with a semi final appearance in Umag.

Bu Nadal, who comes from Mallorca, announced his arrival to Aussie fans in January this year. Competing in his first Australian open, and only his third Grand Slam, he stretched Lleyton Hewitt to the limit in the third round. Their night clash was one of the most intense battles of the fortnight; Hewitt too the first two, extremely tight, sets in tie-breakers before running away with the third.

Modest about his considerable talents, Nadal sad before the match �It�s going to be a very hard match. Almost impossible,� he predicted. �If we both play good, I think that Lleyton has his chances. If we both play normal, maybe Lleyton too. But, if Lleyton doesn�t play so well, and I play well, I can do something.�

That �something� is what the game�s top players are beginning to fear. While Nadal plays down his potential, his potent forehand (and its accompanying grunt) are likely to cause severe damage in the future.

But can the same be said of Gasquet?

In 2003, while snaring four Challengers titles, he had just two ATP wins. At the end of the season, his grand career total was 3-13 (Compared to Nadal�s 15-12). And all the while, he had to watch on as his Spanish rival took those dramatic leaps.

But one factor must be remembered when comparing Gasquet with Nadal. The Frenchman turned pro a year later than his Spanish peer, in 2002. Surely it follows that Gasquet (who doesn�t even turn 18 until June 1 deserves at least another 12 months to produce his own breakthrough.

The teenager admits the transition from junior to senior ranks has been a difficult one.

�It�s another world because juniors is not very professional,� Gasquet told Australian Tennis Magazine.

�In seniors, everybody fights. They hit harder than juniors and they never give away a match. In juniors, you have few people and you win. But in seniors, you can play good and lose. Every player in seniors is hard mentally. You can have a break point and they can put an ace. They play more clever.�

And as Gasquet has learnt, success in juniors often translates into added pressure in the big league.

�I try to focus on me and my game,� said Gasquet, whose ultimate goal is a French Open crown. �I try to not listen to people, but it�s difficult sometimes.�

But the signs are rapidly improving in 2004. Following first round losses in Sydney, Melbourne and Vina del Mar, Gasquet reached his first tour semi-final in Buenos Aires earlier this year. He toppled Fernando Verdasco, Agustin Calleri and Nicolas Massu before falling to Guillermo Coria.

Now the most immediate challenge for Gasquet is to impress at Roland Garros.

The same applies to Nadal and, as usual, he�ll have a handy mentor to call if the demands of being an elite athlete become too much.

Nadal is the nephew of Spanish soccer star Miguel Angel Nadal, who played for FC Barcelona, Real Mallorca and his national side.

But it is Miguel�s brother, Toni, who can claim the most credit.

It was �Tio� (Spanish for Uncle) Toni who put a racquet in Nadal�s hand at age five, and the pair have been working together ever since.

Yet it appears that coming from a high-profile sporting family has helped the development of Nadal, who is already media-hardened.

Whether in Spanish, or translated from English, questions are answered politely, but bluntly. Asked if the pressure of fulfilling his potential gets to him, Nadal relies:

�I am very young. I�m only 17. I don�t really feel the pressure.�

And of being marked as a future champion?

�I have now been playing for a year and all the players know me,� Nadal told reporters in January. �I don�t feel the pressure because they know what I am like. I am like any other player now. I have been playing for one year at this level. I feel no different to any other player.�

Only time will tell if he and Gasquet will remain that way.

**Many thanks to Liz for typing this up, and for the scans. Please do not copy without permission of Liz and VamosRafael.com.**

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