McEnroe: Nadal Can Challenge Federer Long Term

Photo By Susan Mullane By Tennis Week
August 25th, 2005

Nearly three decades ago, a long-haired lefthander with a distinctive style of play took the tennis world by storm as a fearless force who played through qualifying to surge to the semifinals of Wimbledon at the age of 18.

John McEnroe has watched another talented teenager whipping lethal left-handed strokes rise to the Roland Garros title and the second spot in the world rankings and believes the infusion of intensity Rafael Nadal brings to tennis is as energizing as an injection of adrenaline.

"I think this guy's incredible," McEnroe said of Nadal today. "This guy's been a huge injection into the men's game. The guy's only 19 and he plays with unbelievable intensity. He loves competing. He's not afraid to go out and lay it on the line. He's a totally different style than Federer. His look is unusual, to put it mildly, but I think it adds some interest. He's incredibly physically strong for a guy as young as he is."

Slowing Nadal has been as easy as silencing thunder: he has claimed nine tournament titles this season and has won two of three career meetings with Federer. Fresh off conducting an interview with world No. 1 Federer that will air during next week's U.S. Open, McEnroe, who has called Federer "the most talented player I've ever seen in my life" stopped short of saying the second-seeded Nadal can dethrone the defending champion in New York. But he suggests Nadal has the game to challenge Federer for the top spot in the future.

"He's the best bet, if he can keep up this level of play, to really challenge Federer on a somewhat regular basis particularly on a slow court," McEnroe said. "I think Nadal is the best thing to happen to men's tennis this year, without question. He won a tournament in Montreal, OK Roger wasn't there, but he beat Andre in the final who was playing good tennis. I'm not quite sure he's ready to go all the way yet, but he's proven to be a very legitimate contender even on this (hard) court. I'm amazed at how quickly he's advanced. This guy's been an incredible boost for the game."

Another talented teen who has attracted attention is Scottish sensation Andrew Murray, the 2004 U.S. Open junior champion. The USTA was reportedly negotiating with the LTA in a wild card exchange that would have given Murray a wild card into next week's Open in exchange for a future Wimbledon wild card for an American player. James Blake was awarded a wild card into Wimbledon this year and there were rumors that LTA officials sought a Murray wild card into the Open as reciprocation for the Blake wild card. When a mutual agreement could not be reached, the USTA opted against awarding Murray a wild card and McEnroe said he was surprised by the move.

"In short, yes I was surprised based on a couple people I saw who got wild cards," McEnroe said. "I've followed his results and heard he's playing some good tennis. He'll probably get in (through qualifying) because he's playing well, but I was surprised he didn't get a wild card. I think he deserved one, personally. Listen, the guy's a good player and I like him a lot so I'm hopeful he will improve his conditioning, but he's got a good future, potentially."

Asked if he had been contacted recently to work on a part-time basis with Murray, McEnroe replied: "I checked my messages and I haven't heard any messages recently. Just join the list of people who aren't calling me.


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