September 2007.The US open final at Flushing Meadows,New York.Roger Federer beats Novak Djokovic.It capped an 11th consecutive grand slam won by either by himself or Rafael Nadal since Roland Garros 2005, Rafa’s maiden slam.A domination that was never to be witnessed again … or will it ?
Since January 2017, the “FEDAL” have been at it again.Turning back the time,Federer had wins in Melbourne and Wimbledon and Nadal triumphed in Paris and New York. They have re-ignited tennis nostalgia as the veterans have been unmatchable.Heading into this year’s Roland Garros, one would have easily said it’s Rafa ‘s turn… Really ? 7 matches over a fortnight where the surface is bouncy and relentless is not an easy run.
Having said that if the clay in Paris is a bull, that no matador can come close to tame it as the spaniard from Mallorca can.He hardly got a sniff of any issues in the first four matches before coming up against Diego Schwartzman in the quarters.Rain came to his rescue as he lost the first set,and two points adrift of levelling. Luck on his side, maybe.The next day it was back to routine as he brushed off the challenge in four sets.
Speaking of challengers, Federer took his usual clay court sabbatical to get ready for the grass.Alexander Zverev was punished with 15 sets between rounds 2-4,reaching his quarters where Dominic Thiem got the better of him in four sets.The shock of the tourney came when Novak Djokovic, the 2016 winner,trying to make another comeback struggling against Marco Cecchinato,an unheralded italian.Cecchinato took a two set lead and in the fourth nailed a riveting tie break to advance to his first ever semi.Juan Martin Del Potro was the fifth seed and he took to the task to take care of Marin Cilic the world no 3 in quarters before bowing out to Rafa in another punch less semi.Thiem knocked over Cecchinato in the other semi to set a date with Rafa.
Dominic Thiem is only one of three individuals to have defeated Nadal three times on the red clay and he’s done so in the last three years.He idolised Nadal as a youngster growing up on Austrian clay friendly turfs.Now was his chance again.In Madrid, he had Rafa on the ropes early and another quick start would have Rafa in trouble.
The first set was key. Thiem had his chances,but Rafa negotiated it well. He won the first six points of the match and broke early. Despite breaking back,Rafa continued his advantage to break back and keep his cool to take the first set in 58 minutes. He kept his unforced errors low and won a comfortable three fourths of his 1st serve points with a barrage of strokes all over the court resulting in winners.
It was imperative for Thiem to have taken that first set, because barring injury,Rafa is “lights out”come the follow ups.He tried the net but was impervious to passing the spaniard at all there.His serve might have given him some respite but on clay one needs more that that especially against the opponent he was facing.Rafa continued his surge and took care of the next two sets dropping just 5 games.It did take him 5 championship points to seal the deal.It was a foregone conclusion by then.
An 11th French open,a 17th grand slam.It sounds a bit monosyllabic when one sees that he is three behind the GOAT. Despite that, ruling the roost on the red clay of Roland Garros is an astonishing task.He carries on with niggling cramps here and there.It marks the sixth slam in a row now that”Fedal” have conquered in their renaissance.How far will it continue? Nobody cares for now as its exhilarating for tennis.
Whether Rafa is playing Wimbledon or not is another matter but for now he basks in the glory of the “Uno Decima”.
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