Rafa rolls through Roland Garros
Federer's hopes of a Grand Slam were once again dashed within the walls of Roland Garros by none other than Rafael Nadal. Nadal won the French Open title in the fourth set at 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(4). On paper it would seem Nadal's victory came fairly easily, however there were several key instances during the match where the momentum stood on razor's edge. After splitting sets, Nadal's first test came at 2-1 in the third set. Down 0-40 and facing triple break-point, Nadal showed incredible fortitude by battling back to level the set at 2 all. After winning out the 3rd, Nadal's second test came after Federer broke the young 20 year old's serve to even the fourth set at 5-5. The crowd was chanting "Roger, Roger" and it seemed Federer had found the window he was searching for to push this thing into a fifth...but Rafa wasn't having it. Both players held serve forcing the set into a tie-breaker and as quickly as Federer's window had appeared, Nadal slammed it shut. The Raging Bull has come a long way since last year and I think this shows that not only is he talented enough, but he has the mental toughness to start winning major tournaments on other surfaces.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
2 comments:
WRONG. Federer quit at the end of the second set. He was completely drained at that point, and once again his fitness is to blame. I don't think its all his fault( it's not like he plays very long matches to begin with, which is more on his competitors than on him) but he has never been known for his great fitness level and couple that with Nadal and his top-tier fitness, and its obvious that Federer had really no chance. Long points are the norm for the French Open, and when Federer was finally challenged, he just didn't have the level of fitness needed to rise to the occasion. This will not hurt him in England or in N.Y for the yrs final two slams ( though he will be in trouble if Safin plays in either tournament as he has the game to beat Federer)
In a way I feel bad for Federer. He is obviously the best player in the world, but when it comes to playing on clay, he is #2. I think he may be able to win 1 French Open before his career is over( more than Samprass) but that one will be difficult. He may be able to tie for career grand slam titles before he is done, but the French Open could be a hinderance when it comes to talking about Federer as one of the "all-time" greats
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