Having made the French Open title his personal fiefdom, Rafael Nadal will be keen to re-assert his dominance on clay this year. The Italian Open triumph shows that he is in prime form. Will arch-rival Roger Federer and Djokovic, who has struggled over the past few months, be able to stop himIJ Ajeyo Basu explores
The Italian Open final on May 19 could possibly be a sneak preview of the French Open final.
Roger Federer’s latest futile struggle against Rafael Nadal on the red clay of Rome aptly summed up eight frustrating years of French Open futility against his Spanish nemesis.
But one must not lose sight of that other big player in the mix — Novak Djokovic. The Serb has carried his awesome form of 2012 into this year as well and started 2013 with a win at the Australian Open. But he has achieved little else since then as Federer and Nadal have made strong comebacks.
Nadal is virtually unchallenged on clay and he showed his mastery over the surface in Rome last week with an easy 6-1, 6-3 straight sets win over Federer. The Spaniard is easily the favourite on the hallowed red clay of Roland Garros which will likely see him continue his rivalry with the Swiss master.
Comparing the two is difficult since their respective styles are totally different. Instead, it leads many tennis fans to reflect on the Swiss Maestro's most glaring weaknesses. Nadal's topspin has posed problems for Federer's single-backhand, but there are other factors that have shaped this rivalry.
Federer’s style is remiscent of an earlier era. An era when sublime technique was more valued than sheer brute power.
Players like Mats Wilander and Ivan lendl could push away shots with their weaker side and set opponents up.
There were other one-handers who thrived on clay in the 1990s, including Thomas Muster and Gustavo Kuerten.
However, few tennis aficionados would have foreseen the weaknesses to possessing a one-hander because they were nurtured to develop an all-court game.
Half of the French Open champions in this draw used a single backhand.
In the 1980s, coach Pete Fischer had young Pete Sampras change his two-hander to the more well-rounded one-hander so that he could win Wimbledon. It's hard to imagine this would happen again if Sampras were born in the 21st century.
The champions during much of Federer's upbringing sought to hit approach shots and force opponents into off-balanced impotent replies.
Tennis required more nuanced, sublime shots and guile rather than today’s preffered appraoch of simply sitting on the baseline.
Federer’s combination old-style artistic tennis and athletic ability was unbeatable from 2004 to 2008.
Arrival of power tennis
Nadal was born in 1986, a time when the era of artistic tennis was starting to fade and power tennis was starting to dominate the scene.
By the time Nadal was five years old, Jim Courier and Sergi Bruguera had come along with heavy two-handed Western topspin that would dominate four consecutive French Open titles. Fellow Majorcan Carlos Moya also used a two-hander, and champions like Andre Agassi made the baseline style look highly attractive to tennis prospects.
For very young children, holding a racket with two hands is easier. Nadal's autobiography, Rafa with John Carlin, explains that Nadal was using both sides with two hands. At age nine, his Uncle Toni had him commit to one side or the other for his forehand, and Rafa's decision to use a lefty forehand certainly changed the future of tennis.
Yet even by 2005, when a teenaged Nadal was celebrating his first French Open title, it seemed inconceivable that he would become such a dominating force on red clay.
If Federer has been the consummate artist and a master in every condition, it is Nadal who has influenced the way tennis is now played at the highest level.
His heavy topspin has produced unprecedented spin speed and high-hopping balls that can rise above an opponent's head. His armoury of shots has proved to be an undefeatable opponent for every tennis pro around the world.
Consequently, the past decade has seen the rapid expansion from a more traditional, two-dimensional game of placement and power added to a third dimension of aerial bounces produced to make it difficult for the opponent to line up shots in his wheelhouse.
For now, it feels as if Federer's single backhand is all but obsolete in trying to chase titles on clay. If this style is to make a comeback, the players who succeed must hit the ball early and powerfully. Additionally, they must also learn to guide the ball with the same kind of ease seen from the double-handed players.
Young tennis player these days choose to follow Nadal's power play rather than aiming for a more artistic style. The reasons are not hard to find. One does not need to look further than Federer's infamous difficulties in fending off Nadal's devastating missilesIJ
It is like training to be a master swordsman only to find out that a newly-devised longbow is a more effective long-range weapon.
Federer has an original style, but also an anachronistic one playing under new conditions against a mostly new cast of competitors.
He is more of relic of a by-gone era which appreciated artistic tennis while the present generation of players is all about raw power and smashing the ball from the baseline.
But would Federer be a more successful player if he possessed the qualities of some of his biggest rivals like Nadal or DjokovicIJ
What would have happened if he possessed Djokovic's lethal double-backhandIJ Would he have been a more complete playerIJ The ultimate player who sweeps all before himIJ Would he have a shelf stacked with half a dozen French Open cups to go along with the other 16 Grand Slam titlesIJ
To gain a technical advantage is to lose something else. Federer built his game around quick reflexes and perhaps the most masterful baseline forehand in tennis history. He dominated Wimbledon and the US Open. Perhaps he would not have won 17 Grand Slam titles if he had merely decided to rely on a Djokovic-like backhand.
He might gain the patience to bash from the baseline, but lose the aggressive, fluid attacking game that once saw him rule the game.
Changing Federer's backhand would be like giving a makeover to the Mona lisa. Some things are meant to be appreciated forever the way they are.
Nadal is also more than the sum of his whirlwind topspin. He has raised the bar in every aspect of playing on clay.
There is arguably nobody who can top his mental toughness and determination to be a champion.
Opponents like Djokovic and Ernests Gulbis give the ball a mighty whack with their big, powerful backhand, but they will still need the talent, discipline and patiernce to seize the biggest points and dominate three of five sets.
French Open 2013 promises some spectacular action with an in-form Nadal aiming to extend his excellent record at Roland Garros.
Whether or not someone can beat him remains to be seen. Accomplishing that challenge will need a big heart and legendary determination.
It will need an extra-ordinary effort to upstage Nadal on his favourite surface.
Top Contenders
Rafael Nadal
Nadal returned in February following a seven-month layoff to recover from a knee injury. He has won six of the eight tournaments he’s entered in 2013.
The key ranking: Nadal’s recent victory in the Italian Open elevated him to the No. 4 ATP ranking. That means he will be seeded fourth instead of fifth in the French Open. A No. 5 seeding could have meant a quarterfinal pairing with Djokovic, which would have been a travesty. As it turns out, Murray’s withdrawal from the French Open would have avoided such a situation anyway.
The record: Nadal is seeking his eighth French Open title, which would be the most by a player in any Grand Slam event. He is currently tied in the Open Era with Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, both of whom have seven Wimbledon titles. Bill Tilden, William larned and Richard Sears all won seven US championships well before the Open Era. He has won seven of the last eight French Opens and six of the eight tournaments he’s played this year, including the last two on clay.
Nadal, at age 27, is not quite as dominant on clay as he once was, but he is still the best in the world on that surface. Winning the past two clay-court tournaments and crushing Roger Federer in Italian Open final make him the clear favourite.
Novak Djokovic
The Serb beat Andy Murray in five sets to win his third straight Australian Open title in January. It was the 12th straight Grand Slam event won by one of the Big Four (Djokovic, Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal). It was the 10th straight finals in which both participants were members of the Big Four.
He regained the No. 1 ranking last November and has held it ever since. An ankle injury during Davis Cup in April slowed him down and he has been a bit inconsistent since then.
Not since Rod laver won all four majors in 1969 has a player completed a tennis Grand Slam. Djokovic is the only player in contention to do it this year. He won three of the four majors in 2011 but has never won the French Open. Djokovic beat Nadal in the finals on the clay in Monte Carlo last month.
Roger Federer
Because of his age (31), Federer is eligible to compete in as few tournaments as he wants. He has played in only six events in 2013, hoping to save himself for the majors. However, he has failed to win any of those, and reached the finals of only one. Federer has beaten no top-five players this year, and his only win over a top-10 player came against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open in January. Ranked No. 1 last October, Federer is currently ranked No. 3.
Federer’s 17 Grand Slam singles titles are the most in history, but, at age 31, there is debate about whether he’ll ever win another. He won the French Open once, in 2009. Time is running out.
Federer was a finalist for the first time this year last week in Rome. But he beat no one ranked in the top 15 to get there and was was crushed by Nadal in the finals. He should be well-rested having played just two tournament since mid-March.
Roger Federer could become a factor if Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic wind up in the same half of the draw. Having to play Djokovic or Nadal in the semifinals could ruin his chances.
leading ladies
Victoria Azarenka
She has won the Australian Open, but has been battling injuries to her right ankle and left foot since. She played only two tournaments between the Australian Open and the Madrid Open in May. Victoria Azarenka is the only woman eligible to complete a Grand Slam this year. The last female to win all four majors in the same year was Steffi Graf in 1988.
Serena Williams
Serena regained the No. 1 ranking in mid-February and has held it since. She is riding a 24-match winning streak heading into the French Open, having won four straight tournaments. If favored Serena Williams wins the French Open, she would be the oldest woman ever to do so in the Open Era (since 1968). She will be 31 years, 9 months on the day of the French Open finals. Chris Evert, who was 31 years, 5 months when she won in 1986, is currently the oldest Open Era winner of the French Open.
Venus Williams
It’s been a difficult 2013 for Venus Williams. An ongoing struggle with Sjogren’s Syndrome as well as a back injury that forced her to withdraw from the Key Biscayne., tournament in March have caused her ranking to drop to No. 30.
Maria Sharapova
Sharapova has lost to only one player, Serena Williams, since the Australian Open. But she has lost to her three times in 2013. She won her first French Open last year, but did not have to beat any top-five players to do it including Serena.
Party poopers
Stanislas Wawrinka: Wawrinka has wins over Andy Murray, David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Tomas Berdych in his four clay-court tournaments since mid-April. He got to the round of 16 in his past two French Opens. Wawrinka is solid and experienced. He’s the pick to pull an upset and get to the semifinals.
Ernests Gulbis: He took a set from Rafael Nadal while getting to the round of 16 last week in Rome. Ranked 39th, Gulbis has no bad losses on clay this year. He got to the French Open quarterfinals in 2008, but has not done much in Paris since.
Jerzy Janowicz: Just 22 years old, Janowicz is hot at the moment, beating No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and No. 9 Richard Gasquet to reach the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.
Grigor Dimitrov: The rising, 22-year-old Bulgarian beat Novak Djokovic in Italy and took a set from Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo.
David Ferrer: Ferrer got to the French Open semifinals last year. He’s played well in his three clay-court tournaments since the inexplicable loss to Dmitry Tursunov in Barcelona last month.
Thomas Berdych: Berdych beat the world’s Nos. 1 and 2 players, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, on clay in his past two tournaments this month. He goes for broke on nearly every shot, but when he’s on, few can beat him. He’s playing with confidence at the moment and could get to the semifinals in Paris. However, an inability to maintain that level will prevent him from winning the tournament.
The one who will miss out
Andy Murray
Murray had to retire from his second-round match in the Italian Open because of lower back pain. He has decided to withdraw from the French Open as result, according to Associated Press. The rest will help him be healthy for Wimbledon, an event he is more likely to win than the French Open.
With Andy Murray out of the French Open with a back injury, David Ferrer will be the No. 4 seed, creating intrigue when the draw is made on Friday. If top-seeded Djokovic and No. 3 seed Nadal are in the same half of the draw, it would enhance Federer’s chances of reaching the finals.