Nadal Breaks Records and Makes the Battle for the Top More Interesting
Marcos Pereira
In Sao Paulo
Translation by: Marina
Spaniard, 19 years old, he is the most young tennis player to win a Grand Slam since Pete Sampras�s title on USA in 1990. He crashes his opponents on clay court and, within four months, he becomes top 3 of the world and arises as a threat for Swiss Roger Federer�s throne, who leads the world ranking easily since 2004.
Four months and a half ago, when he battled for four hours against Lleyton Hewitt, on Australian Open, Rafael Nadal was treated as a promise that would be soon between the best of the world. Today, days after winning Roland Garros, he is already called as the only threat for Swiss Roger Federer�s reign, the leader of world ranking.
In this period, Nadal, who just turned 19 years old, collected records. On clay, his speciality, he was equal to two ex-players, winners of three of the main tournaments on clay. The Rumanian Ilie Nastase, in 1973, and the Austrian, Thomas Muster, 22 years later, won in one year the tournaments of Monte Carlo, Rome and Roland Garros.
Nadal repeated the same deed and didn�t complete the sequence, in Hamburg - another high level tournament on clay -, because blisters on his left hand stopped him from competing. The Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten, for example, raised these four tournaments�s trophy, but he never won two of them in the same season.
In his 24 matches of invincibility that he holds on slow surface, Nadal defeated the most different rivals. He won over Gast�n Gaudio (champion of Roland Garros in 2004), beated Guillermo Coria in two Masters Series finals, humiliated his fellow countryman Juan Carlos Ferrero (ex-king on clay) and, to finish it, he defeated Federer on his birthday.
There are 56 won-sets against only nine lost, which put Nadal on the third place of world ranking. And he finished this impressive sequence with the title in Paris, where he was equal to Swedish Mats Wilander, in 1982, winning Roland Garros in his debut.
Guga won Roland Garros in his second time playing there, in 1997. In his debut, in the previous year, he was defeated in the first round by Czech Slava Dosedel.
The Nadal�s overpowering success wasn�t on the Spaniard�s plans, who expected to go to Roland Garros �just� between the 25 seed, like he said during the Brasil Open, in Costa do Sauipe (BA). However, beyond winning two Masters Series on clay in the last months, he was champion in Barcelona, Acapulco, and runner-up in Masters Series of Miami (hard court), losing the final for Federer, after five sets.
One of Nadal�s victim in Bahia was Ricardo Mello, who is the best Brazilian tennis player in the ranking, at 56 position. On semifinals, Mello was leading the third set in 4-2, but he lost concentration for one moment and Nadal recovered.
This �chance� in the match is quoted by Mello as one of the main characteristics of Nadal. �When he sees one neglect of his opponent, he takes advantage of it because he plays with a lot of intensity�, said Mello, who lived his best moment in Sauipe, in 2005.
From that moment on, Nadal has been winning his matches more easily, but the Brazilian tennis player doesn�t think he changed the way he plays. �What changed for him is the confidence. After winning in Sauipe, he was champion in Acapulco and didn�t stop until he got to Roland Garros�, he finished.
Comparisons
Nadal�s performance in the beginning of this year gave him comparisons to one of the most renovated tennis players of history. According to the North American John McEnroe, an ex-leader of the ranking, the Spaniard reminds him of German Boris Becker (champion of Wimbledon at 17 years old) because of his physical strength.
�He has a lot of energy and enthusiasm in all shots. Maybe he needs to improve some of them and especially his serve�, analyses McEnroe. �He probably won�t be able to slip on grass like he does on clay, but if Lleyton Hewitt won Wimbledon, there�s no reason Nadal can�t make it someday.�
To Jim Courier, twice champion of Roland Garros and ex-leader of the ranking, one of the main virtues of Nadal is his �pact� with success. �He likes to fight and it doesn�t matter if he lost the first set. He comes back for real in the second one. Besides, he hits heavy the ball, moves well and knows how to counter-attack.�
Nadal�s ascent was already predicted by Brad Gilbert, an ex-top 10 player and ex-coach of the North Americans Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick, in January, during the Australian Open. �If Nadal had stocks on stock exchange, it would be good to buy them now because the price will begin to raise�, he said, at that time, to an Australian TV station.
The compliments also reached players who are still playing. �His forehand is impressive and, even in unfavourable position during a point, he makes �winners�, and that over his opponent�, said Federer. �It�s easy to watch the development of a tennis player, how he improves, getting faster and beating better the ball. And that�s Nadal�s case�, commented Andre Agassi, who won all the four Grand Slams.
Development
It doesn�t matter in what part of the world he plays, Nadal will always be recognized as a tough tennis player, who fights over all the points until the end. His courageous way of �reaching all the balls�, however, is the result of the physical trainer Joan Forcades.
His job is avoid serious injuries, like the one that happened last year. Nadal suffered a sprain on his ankle and stayed three months out of courts, missing big tournaments, like the Masters Series of Monte Carlo, Rome and Hamburg, besides Roland Garros. In his return, he won his first title, in Sopot.
With 1,86m and 81 kg, Nadal has been through a development process, which, according to his trainer, impede an exaggerated work with weights. �His body is still growing and, now, he�s in full hormone�s change. It�s a very delicate moment and, because of that, we can�t take any risk.�
Following Forcade�s orientation, Nadal works with oriental techniques, lengthening, flexions and practices to don�t increase the volume of his muscles. Daily, he spends one hour doing lengthening to prevent himself from injuries and practices with a huge ball.
With a confirmed power on clay, Nadal tries now to don�t let Federer rise on the Champions Race. They are drawn with each other in points, but the second half of the season benefits the Swiss�s style, who likes to play more on fast surfaces, where happens two more Grand Slams � Wimbledon and US Open.
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