Rafael Nadal

Hispanic Great Rafael Nadal will make it Five at French Open

PARIS, France (By Douglas Robson, USA Today) May 21, 2009 — Rafael Nadal is so ridiculously dominant on clay theories on how to beat him have become tennis' theater of the absurd.

"Spray some mace in his towel in the changeover," top-ranked doubles player Bob Bryan quips.

"Attach a motor to your back so that your legs don't have to beat him," American veteran Vince Spadea offers.

Spike his water in the locker room "with some sleeping powder or some happy mushrooms," Martina Navratilova jests.

The default response: bewilderment.

"I don't know," 16th-ranked James Blake says. "Has anyone figured it out yet?"

In Paris, no one has. Which is why when the French Open begins Sunday — the draw is Friday — the strapping Spaniard is as sure a bet in all of sports to land in the winner's circle and capture a record fifth consecutive title. Nadal, the top seed at Roland Garros for the first time, and Bjorn Borg (1978-81) are the only men to win four consecutive titles.

"He's like Edwin Moses," says TV commentator Brad Gilbert, referring to the hurdler who won 122 consecutive 400-meter races from 1977 to 1987. "Nadal's beaten all comers, and he'll beat all comers the next nine years."

Nine might be a stretch, but not by much. Nadal, who turns 23 on June 3, has never lost at Roland Garros — he has gone 28-0 in winning four consecutive titles. Never was his supremacy displayed in such stark relief as it was last year, when he won all 21 sets he played, including nine by scores of 6-1 and three of 6-0.

"I know I am going to lose one day or the other," says Nadal, who responded to questions by e-mail through an interpreter. "Since I know it will happen, I am not worried about it. That's life, the sport and the difficulty of tennis. However, I am right now only thinking about the first match. This is the way it is. Match after match."

Despite steamrolling opponents during the European clay-court swing — he was 19-1 with titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome — Nadal enters Paris coming off a loss.

Crack in the armor?

On Sunday, Roger Federer poked a hole in the Spaniard's aura of invincibility by beating his rival for just the second time on clay, in the final in the Madrid Open.

Nadal, who grumbled about the fast court conditions and his four-hour semifinal the day before against Novak Djokovic, took no solace in the loss.

"There are no positives; there is little to analyze," Nadal says of the 6-4, 6-4 defeat, which snapped his 33-match winning streak on clay and ended a run of five consecutive victories against Federer, including the finals at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

Federer, ranked No. 2, called the win "very satisfying" but did not overestimate its significance for Paris, where matches are best-of-five sets instead of best-of-three and players typically play every other day, as opposed to five matches in seven days at Masters Series events.

"I don't think he's going to take any damage away from this," says Federer, who has lost to Nadal at Roland Garros the last four years. "I'm sure he's going to be rock solid in Paris again."

As dynasties go, Nadal's unblemished record at Roland Garros is all the more impressive because so much can go wrong over the course of a pressure-filled Grand Slam tournament fortnight. There are no teammates to rely on, no losses whitewashed by a best-of seven series format, no home-court advantages. Plus, many variables come into play over seven matches, including a red-hot opponent, health, weather, personal distractions and court conditions that can change widely depending on how much rain the clay soaks up.

"All it takes is one guy, one day," two-time French Open champion Jim Courier says. "You expect he'll be sick or have an off day or something will be going on in his personal life that would be disruptive. But he doesn't allow anything to get in the way."

Nadal's swashbuckling virility on the court is counterbalanced by his humility off it.

He still lives in his family's house in working-class Manacor on the island of Mallorca, likes to go fishing with his childhood friends and dates Maria Francesca Parello, a business student at a local university.

Only recently did Nadal trade in his $20,000 Kia sport-utility vehicle for a $270,000 Aston Martin — even though far more luxurious vehicles he has won at tournaments have gathered dust in his family's garage for years.

Still, Nadal sheepishly concedes that breaking Borg's record of four consecutive French Open titles is important to him. "I cannot say that it is not," Nadal says.

Always improving

With ferocious topspin, unflinching self-belief, intimidating physicality and anesthetizing defense, Nadal is a clay-court machine.

As the six-time major winner has racked up victories on his favorite surface — including a record winning streak of 81 matches on clay in 2007 — he has not let the rest of his game stand pat.

Nadal adds powerful serve to his arsenal

"He's got a growing tennis IQ," Tennis Channel commentator Leif Shiras says.

Under the watchful eye of his uncle and coach, Toni, Nadal has learned to dictate play as well as rely on his indefatigable defense. He can flatten his backhand to hit through the court, use his deft hands to end points at the net and stand closer to the baseline when necessary to steal time from opponents. He has improved his serve significantly and, as always, his forehand is a whirring, lethal weapon.

Nadal cryptically describes his evolution as being "more aware of the dangers."

"Maybe you can say it is more aggressive, much less defensive and therefore I run less," he says of his style today. "I am a better tennis player in general, but also on clay. I have learned a lot."

Disrupting his rhythm

There are, of course, serious as well as lighthearted schools of thought on how to upend Nadal.

Most involve finding a way to force the action or disrupt his rhythm. One line of thinking says attack at every opportunity and dislocate his patterns with a mix of short chips. Italy's Adriano Panatta, who accounted for Borg's only two losses at Roland Garros, employed such a strategy successfully.

"You have to play against the grain," Tennis Channel analyst Justin Gimelstob says.

Yannick Noah deciphered three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander's staunch defense in 1983 by looping topspin forehands deep, slicing low backhands and sneaking to the net whenever possible. Wilander thinks that strategy might work against Nadal.

"You have to make sure that he doesn't have a target to pick," he says.

Others suggest playing him straight up.

"I would play him the same way I play him on hard: try to take the time away from him, make him beat you with his backhand, make him hit passing shot after passing shot," says Blake, who is 3-2 against Nadal but has never played the Spaniard on clay.

The best chance might be if Nadal were injured, however unsporting that might sound. Last year his only loss on clay came when he had severe foot blisters and fell to Juan Carlos Ferrero in his opening match in Rome.

No one is unbeatable, as Federer proved last week.

But it will take someone with an array of weapons — cagey and speedy Andy Murray, the Scotsman who is ranked No. 3 in the world, or Serbia's Djokovic, who has been Nadal's most consistent threat on clay this year. No. 8-ranked Fernando Verdasco of Spain, a fellow left-hander with a physical presence, also stands a chance.

This much is certain: Anyone wishing to break Nadal's grip will have to take big risks and keep the points short, as Federer did in Madrid.

The traditional clay-court approach of sitting back at the baseline and grinding it out is equivalent to digging your own grave.

"The question isn't if anyone can beat Nadal at the French Open," says Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. Davis Cup captain. "It's can anyone take more than one set off him?"

Nadal adds powerful serve to his arsenal

For a player so deadly while on the move, Rafael Nadal's biggest improvement surprisingly has taken place when he's most idle: on his serve.

In the last four years, he transformed his 99-mph point-starter delivery into a weapon that can approach 130 mph. Consider: In 2004 Nadal won 77% of his service games and hit 57 aces. In 2008 he won 88% and smacked a career-high 283 aces.

Those adjustments have paid dividends on all surfaces. Nadal not only snapped Roger Federer's streak of five Wimbledon titles last year, but he also captured his first major on hardcourts in the Australian Open in January.

"Rafa is playing even more aggressively this year," fellow Spaniard David Ferrer said after losing to Nadal in the Barcelona final last month.

"Clearly it has been the best start of the year I ever had," Nadal said.

Nadal's service statistics

Year Aces First-serve% (rank) First-serve points won Second-serve points won Service games won Break points saved

2003 37 73% 70% 56% 79% 64%

2004 57 70% (1) 67% 54% 77% 61%

2005 219 69% (1) 71% 57% (2) 84% 64% (8)

2006 240 69% (5) 72% 57% (2) 86% (5) 68% (4)

2007 238 68% (5) 73% 56% (3) 86% (5) 67% (4)

2008 283 69% (4) 72% 60% (1) 88% (4) 67% (5)

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate ATP Tour rank if the ranking was in the top 10