Bud Collins
Which would be a bigger shock in Paris: The Eiffel Tower collapsing or Rafael Nadal losing a tennis match at Roland Garros? When Nadal departed the Italian Open early a couple of weeks ago – a straight-set loser to Juan Carlos Ferrero in his first match in Rome – his wounded right foot looked like a disaster area. Blisters, cracks, holes – an awful site for spectators as courtside treatment administered to Nadal was displayed on the Italian Open Jumbotron. It should have been X-rated video. But Nadal didn’t quit or sulk as any reasonable guy would have.
Instead he accepted the loss and began hungering for Hamburg. Not the Big Mac kind but a title he wanted badly – the German Open. It was a title he got, continuing to frustrate Roger Federer in a dirt arena, defeating the Swiss in the final 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3. That’s eight out of nine for Nadal over Federer when the playground has been clay (the one win by Federer coming in Hamburg last year).
And now it’s Paris, the capital of clay – heaven for Nadal, hell for Federer – as they look forward to colliding again in a third straight French Open final.
Nobody quite as imposing as Nadal has ever strode into Paris. Never beaten on the crimson soil, he is pursuing Bjorn Borg’s record run of four straight French Open titles (1978-81), and will celebrate his 22nd birthday June 3. Borg, also a June baby, was as quick and competitive as Nadal, but he was flailing away with a wooden weapon. He couldn’t produce the overpowering blizzards of spin that flow from Nadal’s high-tech racquets. This torrent, unleashed by a lefthander, is even more malevolent.
Of course, somebody will beat Nadal on clay someday (he has with 108 wins in his last 110 claycourt matches), but this doesn’t look like the year for it in France. Will Federer even get to the final? He’s lost seven matches this year and won only one title (Estoril), looking shaky as he was beaten by such players as Mardy Fish (current ranking of 39), and at Rome, Radek Stepanek (current ranking of 22).
There are dangerous potential opponents lurking for Federer – among them Nikolay Davydenko, David Nalbandian, David Ferrer, Igor Andreev, Mario Ancic, and Ferrero. And certainly the bumptious kid, Novak Djokovic, who lifted Federer’s Australian Open title.
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Slide show
MICKELSON SAYS OPEN WILL BE STRUGGLE
De Ferran ready to starting racing again
Collins: Federer down but not out
