Neil Harman
Tennis Correspondent in Monte Carlo
April 13, 2024
THE gentleman in the next seat was not impressed when Rafael Nadal almost took a line judge�s head off with a ferocious overhead during the warm-up for his match on Court Central yesterday. �Quelle monstre,� he whispered. True, there is something of the monster in Nadal, but this is a Spanish teenager blessed with a game of light and shade and a personality as engaging as his tennis can be brutal.
Nadal whipped Xavier Malisse 6-0, 6-3 to reach the third round of the Monte Carlo Masters and now meets Olivier Rochus � the Belgians are queueing up to challenge the 18-year-old. Malisse had words of caution for his compatriot. �Nadal is like a rock, he hits some unbelievable shots, especially his high looping backhand, which is tough to do anything with,� he said. �At the start I was just hitting the ball back and that isn�t enough. If I play him again, I�ll know what I have to do.�
Knowing what to do and having the ability to carry it through are a league apart. For Nadal is not one to give an inch and certainly not when he can see an opponent lacks the belief that he can make sufficient inroads to stay in the match.
Malisse, never an up-and-at-�em player at the best of times, was beaten from the moment he started to overhit his forehand, go down on his haunches, shake his head and mis-time so often that the strings on his racket kept pinging apart. Nadal gets to one that way.
If the youngster had a really destructive serve, who knows what havoc he could wreak. �I need to practise a lot and get a little bit of confidence, no?� he said. �I need confidence to improve the shot. I have the slice and if I will serve well, it makes me more secure in a match. It�s important that I improve on that.�
In Seville last December, Nadal replaced Juan Carlos Ferrero in the Spain team for the Davis Cup final; in Valencia last week, he allowed Ferrero three games in their first-round match. For Ferrero, the long haul back after a debilitating year when chickenpox sucked all the strength from him continues day by day. He has risen from the mid-130s in the Indesit ATP rankings to No 69 this week � he was No 1 only 19 months ago � and is looking to earn a place inside the top 20 by the end of the year.
Ferrero meets Marat Safin, the Australian Open champion, today in what he knows will be a significant signpost on the journey. �I don�t have to get to where I want to get in a hurry,� he said, although it burns to prove once again, at 25, how awesome a competitor he remains.
�I have no points to defend because I played so little last year,� he added. �There are many opportunities for me if I play normally. I don�t have another option but to be patient if I want to get back to the top.�
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