London – On a Friday night in late September, One wouldn’t associate a doubles match to be eagerly watched. Except when the doubles involve Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.The event is known to the world as “Laver Cup ” which is best dubbed an exhibition team event between Team Europe and Team World.The Cup this year in particular was the setting scene for Roger’s final farewell to his professional tennis career.His last singles match was a quarterfinal loss to Herbert Hurkacz in Wimbledon 2021.

Roger’s illustrious tennis career stems back to when “Pistol” Pete Sampras ruled tennis.As a junior who had won Wimbledon in 1998, he burst into fame beating Pete in 4th round of Wimbledon 2001. It was a famous Wimbledon which had Goran Ivanisevic crowned as the winner in the twilight of his career on a Monday finish . Little did we know that in two years, Roger would be lifting the first of his 8 Wimbledons and going onto win 20 grand slam wins.Pete retired after winning his 14th grand slam in New York in September 2002. When he announced it suddenly, it seemed tennis might not be the same as his rivalry with Andre Agassi drew to a close.

Roger had an exemplary and unique style. He would be a perfect blend to the serve of volley style of Pete and baseline strength of Andre. He would be relaxed during the games yet emotional in moments of triumph.He would become the overwhelming crowd favourite and was set to dominate men’s tennis with his own array of brilliant stroke play.

The tennis sensation from Basel, would go onto clean up most of the slams in 2004 and it seemed that the next tennis rivalry of his would have Andy Roddick attached to him. Roddick replaced Sampras as the 2003 US open champion however that would be his only slam. Federer’s main rival would come in 2005 when a teenager called Rafael Nadal burst into the scene on a surface where Roger was found to most vulnerable – clay.

Together, they became the no 1 rivalry of the sport sharing many finals in major events and slams. The 2007 and 2008 Wimbeldon finals were soon to raise the bar very high for the sport. The 2009 Australian open similarly became a pivotal moment in their rivalry only to be matched up by a similar 2017 Melbourne finale which Roger won to end a 5 year hiatus in grand slams. It was his 18th slam. Along the way Roger won every major slam inclusive of the 2009 French Open,his only success in Paris against Robin Soderling.

Roger was at home throughout at Wimbeldon . He won it 8 times,the last of which came in 2017.His last ever grand slam final was also Wimbledon in 2019 -against Novak Djokovic, he was almost home as he had match point at one moment . Djokovic won the final set tie break after the two tied at 12 -12. Roger had a huge rivalry with Novak as well and together with Rafa form the big 3 of GOAT’s in the current and modern era having won 20, 21,and 22 slams respectively.

On this Friday night though , they all were on the same side and all three became emotional as they knew an era was coming to an end. Novak was on sidelines as he watched Roger play out his final ever match with long time rival and friend, Rafa.Rafa had made the trip to London for the farewell game alone.It was against Francis Tiafoe and Jack Sock, a doubles specialist. Though the latter won in a closely contested match tiebreak after 1 set all, the whole limelight was on Roger’s swan song.

What followed in the aftermath was an emotional soap opera that can just be described by the viral pictures of Roger in front of his family or him with Rafa together as Ellie Goulding ( There wasn’t any role for her or the songs she sang in any reference to the night , by the way ) took stage.The stage was always Roger’s on this night . Novak and Rafa bot became emotional as it dawned on many ,the golden era of tennis is finally nearing its end.

Apart from the tears shed , in the pre tourney conference ,there were many moments to reflect. He gave a great press conference. There are so many memories of many great moments the fans will cherish.He was one of the greatest sporting entertainers of all times.I hope he won’t be a stranger to tennis which according to his statements is reassuring.From the tennis court, Roger, we will miss you and hope that in some capacity, we see you soon. Thank you for the memories.

Semifinals can be one of the most difficult and entertaining games in any sport. Whether its the Fifa World Cup, the Conference Finals in NBA or any of tennis’ grand slams, they have an air of exuberance about them.Such games can also be defining moment in one’s  journey towards an elusive title or even at times signalling the end of a career.

Rafael Nadal’s career is filled with exultation, euphoria and vigour.Anything less would not be Rafa by definition.His hold on being the best  player on clay  is unchallengeable in any court.11 French opens are more than enough to lay that claim.Even if he had 9(one more than Max Degucis),he would been crowned the King. However,with his zest and honours,comes a track of injuries he has suffered over the years and a price to pay on arguably the most difficult surface in tennis to play on.

To dismiss Rafa on clay early in the season would be to say that Brazil won’t ever win another Fifa World Cup.As long he has entered the Stade Roland Garros, he will be in the reckoning, no matter what the field is.But the field will be stronger.Roger Federer plays for the 1st time in four years in Paris and Novak Djokovic is much stronger than  a year ago when he lost to Marco Cecchinato in the quarters as a 20th seed in Paris.20th seed ? He is World no 1 now having won all the three slams since that loss. Dominic Thiem also is proving a strong contender.

Having said Rafa still has the edge on clay.His early clay court season form though has had dents in it already.In Monte Carlo, he was upset by the eventual winner Fabio Fognini ending his 18 match streak at the tourney.Barcelona was next where he again was a 3 time defending champion.He met Dominic Thiem in a semi and lost in straight sets.He entered Madrid Masters  as the no. 2 seed and having won here 2 years ago, was a strong favourite.

Under the floodlights of the Manolo Santana stadium court,he had lost no more than seven games in a contest leading up to the semi finals.That is,till he played the “Next Gen” star, Stefanos Tsitsipas.Stefanos only won 6 games against Rafa in their grand slam encounter in the Australian Open in an embarassing semi defeat for the 20 yr old at the Rod Laver Arena.Madrid though was different and Stefanos was a different contender.His array of ground strokes and youthful brilliance conquered the first set and pushed Rafa to bring his best on clay in set no 2.

Rafa obliged having won 4 straight to end the second set and draw level.However, in the decider, the Greek star held his nerve countering break points on his own to force the advantage and break for a 3-2 lead and then another  for a 5-2 cushion and settle the tie.Rafa ousted from another Masters tourney on clay in 2019 and remains win less on clay  with Rome and Paris in waiting .He hasn’t made it to a final on the surface yet either.Are we seeing chinks in the armour now ?Oh well, clay does produce a fair share of upsets.

 

 

 

 

 

Could it be accumulating fatigue ?Could the injuries have been taking its toll ?Could the opposition on clay have got stronger in 2019? Too early to tell but there might be hints in each factor.He has 57 clay court titles so far, something which might not be broken in a long long time but is that the final number ?Or a blip ?Rafa has come back too many times to make that number static.

In the context of the 2019 season, Rafa hasn’t won a title yet.Incidentally his last win came against Tsitsipas was on Toronto’s hard courts.Surprise, surprise,he is the defending champion in both Rome and at Roland Garros, so will have to defend a lot of ranking points.Though that might be the least of his worries.This could be a keenly contested three weeks of clay court tennis(Italian and French Open) for years. We might just have to wait still till the chequered flag can be raised for an end of the road to Monstruo Rojo (Red Monster).

 

 

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”.

Five sets of tennis.It happens in a tennis grand slam tourney only in the men’s game. There are only 4 of them in a  year and in very unique venues.Even though each Open occurs once annually,one can never get enough of it, it seems. Melbourne in mid to late January signals 2018 has truly begun.

In an Ashes year with BBL as well rising,would an Australian Open coming in the heart of the summer capture the same audience particularly in a commercially competitive climate ?Why not? Not only the crowds would flock into record admissions at the Melbourne Park in the heat of the day but would be departing late into the night sessions as some of the matches ended at 1 am.

One of the factors for that renewed interest has been the ongoing second wind of someone called Roger.Since he last won the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup in the epic final last year against Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer has had  superb 2017.His “Sunshine double” and Wimbledon trophies were hallmarks of his success initiated from the Melbourne win.

This year,even though Rafa was No. 1 heading into the Open,he was making a comeback from the  knee  injury which ended his season last year.Roger was seeded and ranked world no. 2 for the event and his draw was somewhat supportive.Novak Djokovic was himself coming back after a long time himself and Sascha Zverev departed to an unheralded Korean by the name of  Chung Hyeon who himself resembled Novak in style of play.That might helped as Chung knocked off the six time champion.

Seeded no 5, Dominic Thiem who was also in Roger’s half was ousted to conveniently named Tennys Sandgren, opening the door for an all unseeded quarter between Chung.Roger,meanwhile had no issues getting to the second week in Melbourne as is usual for him.He didn’t even drop a set.Looking relaxed as ever,he had all the time for post match press conferences which sparked their own by line.

Rafa had reached quarters with mild difficulties. Only Diego Schwartzman in round four pressured him but by the time he faced Marin Cilic in  the last eight, his injury woes became apparent.A thigh tear in the fourth set led Cilic to enforce a deciding fifth but it was clear that Rafa would not be  the same.He retired 0-2 down.Cilic advanced rather easily to the final ending Kyle Edmund’s dream run in the semi.

Chung was determined to reach his first semi and beat Sandgren in straight sets.Was he really the new Novak? Roger was resolute in his focus and after he steamed through with a  6-1,5-2 lead,Chung could not manage any more. A foot blister caused him to withdraw and Roger was through to his  seventh Aussie open final.It would be a repeat of the 2017 Wimbledon Final.

A smooth first serve,effective and timely winners and cashing up on the break points had been his forte throughout the fortnight.This didn’t change in the final.He rolled again the first set just like last year in just 26 minutes,6-2.Marin came back in the second set and played a surreal tie break to level the match.Roger unscathed by this broke in the sixth game of the third set to reinforce the advantage.

Marin had to dig deep again.He was broken early in the fourth but fought valiantly twice breaking Roger to force the decider.Another 5 setter.Unreal.Oh,don’t they love that at the Rod Laver Arena? However as much as it was an epic last year,Marin just didn’t have much left in his tank. Roger broke in the second game and led 4-1. His next break of serve in game six set him clear and effectively killed the final.He won his last six points on serve that included 24 aces on the night.Roger nailed his sixth Australian Open with a service winner which equalled Novak’s record.

For what its worth,Roger Federer defined the meaning G.O.A.T. in tennis last season.If there were any remnants left for those meticulous statisticians,one could go find no better place than Melbourne.He has 20 grand slam singles now and on pace for more,with Steffi and Serena’s 22 in sight.Jimmy Connors record of 109 singles titles is 13 away.At 36,he is looking fresher than ever.

In the season of Grammy’s, BAFTA’s and Oscars,tennis has probably resigned all of these accolades and more to the eternal great from Basel who has conquered the Plexicushion Prestige “down under” yet again.He is still the biggest draw of Melbourne Park and for that matter all the tourneys he takes part in for another year.Take a bow and wipe the tears,Roger… for the Swiss storm is here and is in full force.

15 years ago in 2002,when Pete Sampras won at Flushing Meadows, he took his 14th grand slam in what was his career ending tourney.Roy Emerson’s  singles slams record stood for about 29 years.Who knew Pistol Pete’s record was not going to last one decade even as by 2009 Wimbledon,Roger Federer had eclipsed this taking his 15th slam.Roger had taken this current record to 19 by taking two slams earlier this season.

If Roger’s record can be claimed to be insurmountable,US open provided the perfect scene to cap a possible 20th slam, something of an enigma.Tennis was rejuvenated this year with the return of the Swiss icon alongside his long time rival and tennis legend, Rafael Nadal who claimed his 15th slam earlier this year at Roland Garros, a slam Roger missed intentionally to concentrate on Wimbledon’s grass.With Rafa claiming the world no 1 ranking heading into Tennis’ Fall classic,the scenario was set for the 1st ever clash between the two veterans at Flushing Meadows.

However the organisers had other procedures to run.Andy Murray’s late withdrawal added to Kei Nishikori,Milos Raonic,Novak Djokovic meant only six of the top eleven players competed.In a decision that probably influenced a significant blow to the tourney,both Nadal and Federer ended up in the same half of the draw, which handicapped the bottom half.On top of that the bottom half seeds fell quickly including Sascha Zverev (No.4 seed) and Gregor Dimitrov(No. 7 seed)as well as former US open champion Marin Cilic (No.5 seed).

With the new roof in its second year and another one en route,the action was non stop on Arthur Ashe and saw the return of a former champion.Juan Martin Del Potro won a classic final in 2009 and he produced one of the comebacks of this tournament if not his career,with match point down against Dominic Thiem in the fourth round.Del Po rolled against the scoreboard and his fever to mark a five set return and generate a much needed life into the tourney.His reward was another match up on the famed centre stadium against Roger.

The bottom half minus all its stars whether through injury or knockouts was largely subdued.Amidst this,Denis Shapovalov appeared as a possible star until Pablo Carreno-Busta matched him three tie break sets win in the fourth round. Pablo had a dream run that took him to the semis where he met his match against a long time grand slam struggler,Kenneth Anderson.Anderson played some of the best tennis of his career to overcome Sam Querrey in the quarters which the home favourite was destined to win.Obviously there will be a huge question mark considering the absences but credit to Anderson still making it through to his first ever grand slam final.

Del Po lived a new life in his quarterfinal.Facing Roger under the wednesday night lights of a packed Ashe,the first two sets were split.Roger had a huge chance to take the third set but foiled on four set points in the tie breaker to give advantage to the Argentine.Del Po couldn’t be stopped after that.He had undergone four wrist surgeries in the time between that last famous 2009 duel at the US Open final.

 

 

Rafa on the other hand drifted well in the top half squeezing the life out of the Deco turf and playing it as if it was a cousin of the red clay he shines on in June.He blitzed the 19 yr old Andrey Rublev in a one sided quarter that saved quite a bit of time.The semi final against Del Po was hyped to be the match of the tourney.Del Po was in immense form taking the first set matching Rafa with aggression.However what came after was if  all the gas had leaked out of his tank.Rafa in no time was level with a 6-0 comeback in second set. On a roll of nine straight games, he took the third set as well, 6-3.Del Po had nothing left it seemed. Rafa took the fourth set 6-2 to sail into his fourth US open final.

 

The final was a  foregone conclusion.Rafa had too much power, experience and an all round game to nail it in straight sets.Anderson had almost no chance. It was Uncle Toni’s last match as Rafa’s coach.Rafa didn’t let him down.His 16th grand slam and third in New York ended a lean hard court run which stretched since January 2014.He retained his no.1 ranking and this completed a clean sweep of 2017 slams by the two leading grand slam winners ever in men’s tennis.Once again the deficit is reduced to two.

The US Open is a usually the grand slam climax of the year.We were denied a possible a first ever Nadal- Federer match up again at Flushing Meadows but more of that in  2018 will wet appetite of many heading into Melbourne in January.”Pistol” Pete and Roy Emerson will hopefully be watching.

 

 

 

I recall 2013 Wimbledon when Sergei Stakhovsky,a Ukrainian tennis player at best termed as a “lucky loser “knocked out Roger Federer in four tough sets at centre court at Wimbledon in round 2. Many had quoted the famous line ” end of the road “for the Swiss king of grass courts.He was the defending champion and ranked no.3 then. However in the slams following his 2012 Wimbledon success, his best was a semi final appearance at Melbourne earlier that year.He was to lose plenty of points and might fade away. He had back injuries plaguing his 2013 season. It was the first time in 14 years he hadn’t made a final in the first 4 months of the year. He needed a change in racquets as well as his coaching staff.Stefan Edberg came to help.

He journeyed next to a relative second wind thanks to Edberg ‘s company. He reached the semis of 2014 Aussie Open,a pair of  Wimbledon ones twice in 2014 and 2015,the 2015 US Open final and Aussie open semis again in 2016. The latter four losses came to the in form Novak Djokovic.He was missing that final touch that could get him past the Serb and reach newer glories.What really was being exhibited that a player in his thirties was playing tennis at a different class.However that Aussie open loss left him with a torn meniscus in his knee that was to take over his entire season.He withdrew from the French ending his sequence of 65 straight slam appearances and his 2016 season. We didn’t know if we would see him again.

2017,however couldn’t have been fresher for him.He looked as robust as ever.The Aussie open as I have told about earlier in the year captured the s essence of Roger’s youthful form. A classic five setter with Rafa and his 18th slam.The fairytale was complete. That wasn’t over by a stretch though.In the spring he completed the sunshine double of Indian Wells & Miami.Then came a planned clay break.It has been quite clear that he’d be picky in his appearances and clay was never his sort of domain.A useful break from the French Open again would have helped ease off any strains for the grass court season.

It paid off.At Halle,he was exceptional.Nailing down his ninth title there,few would bet against a huge performance at SW19.He was looking again refreshed by the break.He breezed past all his opponents on the All England Club.Whilst in the second week, Murray and Djokovic had injury niggles and Nadal succumbed to a 15/13 final set stunner by Giles  Muller,the veteran Swiss had no problems with Alexander “Sascha” Zverev and Gregor Dmitrov brushed aside in rounds 3 and 4.Next was Raonic and a rematch  of last year’s semifinal which he had lost to the young Canadian.

Roger was maintaining his early season form.He avenged last year’s loss in straight sets.His serve was ominous and the strokes paralleled it with venom and dexterity on the low grass surface which he has dominated most of his life. IHe marched on towards his semi final  opponent, Thomas Berdych.In 2010, he had lost the defence of his title to the tall Czech in fairly unfamiliar fashion to the surprise of many in the semi finals but exacting revenge was not an  issue this time either. Berdych took him to the two tie breaks but Roger prevailed again.

So on to another Wimbledon Sunday where all pageantry was once again donning  the centre court.It is always a huge occasion.Roger at 35 now didn’t have Stefan as his coach but had all his family with his pair of twins watching and urging him on.He wouldn’t have disappointed them.That element probably came from another injury ridden opponent in Marin Cilic.Funny enough Cilic on course to his maiden and only grand slam success of 2014 US Open beat Roger in a one sided semi in which he had lost  just ten games.I don’t think Roger had revenge in his mind.

The first few games had Cilic give his best shot.However by game 6, when Roger broke for a 4-2 lead, it seemed the writing could have been making its way to  the wall. Cilic seemed in pain and Roger had the first set 6/3.It has to be said though that the next two sets weren’t much to elaborate  about as it looked like the Croat was nowhere close to his earlier tournament form.Roger ransacked the second set 6/1 and the writing was truly on.He broke early in the third as well and there was no turning back then. He took the championship with a 6/4 finish.

In his 70th grand slam which is a record for men’s tennis,he went onto win his eighth Wimbledon, his 19th grand slam and without losing a set.Beat that for longevity and form.He last won two slams in a single year in 2009. Due to his injury ending season in 2016, he had dropped to no.17 in the rankings.He now has  become no. 3 again and has a chance to even finish no.1 as Andy will continue to lose his huge points he made up at the latter half of last year.

Roger is back on the main stage. Tennis rejuvenated. I would say to Christopher Nolan now that he should write about the White Knight who has risen than all those Batmans he has enriched us with in the last decade.

 

A year ago in the 3rd round at Roland Garros,Rafael Nadal withdrew due to a wrist injury against fellow countryman,Marcel Granollers.He missed Wimbledon alongside Roger Federer having most of the summer off until his appearance at the US open where he succumbed to a fourth round loss to Lucas Pouille.Many would have written off Rafa who now was 30 as the sun set in New York towards the end of the 2016 Grand slam season.He had failed to reach grand slam quarter final for the first time since 2004.

2017,however, became a different story. No more does he wear the long sleeveless shirts and capri shorts that became a trend last decade.Reaching the Aussie Open final  as a ninth seed and playing a long fought five setter against Roger would never be forgotten.Despite leading with a break in final set, he had lost five straight games to lose the Norman Brookes trophy.However,it was his 3rd round encounter against Alexander “Sascha” Zverev,hailed as the new tennis sensation of the future,which set the ball rolling for his much more comprehensive run.

The procession didn’t end there.Indian Wells and Miami brought further “Fedal” encounters which the Swiss won on hard courts taking his winning streak to 4 against his old rival.Rafa now has been winless in Miami in 5 final’s attempts.He couldn’t have asked to have a  better time to claim “Red Respite”.Coming in, he had won 9 times previously in Monte Carlo,  Barcelona and Paris. Even his favoured Real Madrid will have had to take a bow to that.

Monte Carlo became easier  for him once he had dispatched Kyle Edmund early on. He breezed through the final against Albert Ramos Vinolas to claim the 10th trophy and pass Guillermo Vilas’s  49 clay court titles record.In Barcelona, he came across a novelty.The Real Club de Tennis had renamed Pista Rafa Nadal stadium in his honour. He didn’t disappoint and  dominated Dominic Thiem in the final claiming his 51st clay court crown.

The theme of  “Thiem” enocunters didn’t end there.He played him again in the final of Madrid Open which despite being close to losing the first set,prevailed again in straight sets.Thus,came Rafa ‘s 30th Masters title tying his long time rival Novak Djokovic’s record. He seemed unstoppable on clay now.Thiem however got one back on Rafa ending his 17 match win streak on the Foro Italico  in Rome in the quarters.The tourney was  eventually won by Sascha Zverev. Paris was next in line for no.10.

Rafa breezed through almost each round.Robin Hasse could count himself lucky.In the second round took eight games off Rafa which was the most in the whole tourney anyone managed against the spaniard.The following round, he just lost one. Nadal played on  different planet losing just seven games to Thiem in the semi.The term ” thrashed ” would be an understatement.The 2015 Roland Garros champion ,Stan Wawrinka who had won earlier against Andy Murray in fifth set battle was supposed to be a test at least. It didn’t.The US Open champ was caned with just six games before the traditional ” Rafa’s  fall of victory “on the red surface in astonishment would occur. Overall,he had lost just 35 games at Roland Garros this year,his best show so far in his 13th French Open appearance,ten of which have been titles.He has only lost 2 matches in Paris ever.

The intensity of his strokes hit another level on clay. Whilst many struggle to adapt on the surface,Rafa would just not make errors on the surface and line passing shots to all sides,all day long.As is ever exhibited, he counters a huge punch using muscular build though how long will he sustain in a long season this is open to question.

If the European clay court season was evidence of Nadal’s resurgence on the ATP tour, then Roland Garros was no short of being the coronation.Andy Roddick had previously said that Rafa would win “eight french opens”.Rafa went for  the ultimate in tennis, a grand slam “La Decima” in a calendar season where he has three now  on the same surface. Can it be ever equalled ? Can anyone ever close to it ? Many in the tennis world resoundingly say not.

Whether it is the best ever sporting achievement is up for debate.For now the basking clay of Roland Garros in Paris is home to a 15th Grand Slam to a legend of tennis who has passed another legend in Pete Sampras.A historic  2017 rolls on.

 

Paris in early June.The sun was shining on Novak Djokovic, who had just completed his career grand slam winning the one trophy missing from his illustrious cabinet, the Musketeers trophy at the French Open. The vanquished,who sat mopping his sweat for the second slam in a row was Andy Murray.Few would have predicted at that point how the second half of the season would unravel.The odds of a “ calendar grand slam “ and record number of grand slam singles were being made and discussed.For Andy though,the season had just started.He had beaten the world number 1 in the Italian Open final a few weeks earlier for his first title of the year. Just preceding the start of the grass season, he had reunited with Ivan Lendl, who he had experienced success with in the past leading up to his 2013 Wimbledon crown.Why Lendl came back to engage in a busy schedule of Team Murray is a wonder as he had left Andy for similar issues in the past. Maybe he missed the tour too much.

His wins in the Queens and Wimbledon at the turn of the grass court season led the revival.On both occasions he had defeated Milos Raonic, the up and coming Canadian, convincingly.In a year where including Raonic, many had overlooked playing in Rio Olympics for various reasons,Murray was out to flirt with history.He made the trip to South America and defended his gold medal in a hectic but thrilling display which culminated in a four set win again Juan Martin Del Potro who was on a comeback trail. He became the only player to have won back to back gold in successive Olympics.

His work didn’t stop then.Almost as soon as Rio ended ,even before the closing ceremony, he was on a flight north in excess of 5,000 miles to continue his hardcourt tuneup at the masters event in Cincinnati,Ohio. It was a tough follow up act and he lost in the final in straight sets to Marin Cilic.The fight for the us open crown also ended eventually in a five set thriller to Kei Nishikori in the quarters. By the time he had reached Beijing in early October,his Davis cup defence for Great Britain was also over courtesy of a five set thriller with Del Potro.

The season still had a lot to offer.He began his streak on non stop wins from the indoor courts of the China Open.He rolled in ten straight sets wins in China as he took the Shanghai Masters alongside Beijing in style.He capped off a perfect October with a win in Vienna as he chased the world no 1 ranking which many said is unattainable.

In Paris as the final Masters event of the event got underway, Novak had an appalling time with injury and results in the autumn.His only tournament since the Flushing meadows final defeat to Stan Wawrinka was a semi final loss in Shanghai. He had to reach the final to retain the ranking.The quest for that ended with a quarters loss to Marin Cilic.He had obviously lost a lot of form in the running. A rejuvenated Murray took the Masters title in some ease and with that the World No 1 ranking.

The Tour finals awaited in 02 arena,London.Back in home territory,Murray with the no 1 ranking behind his back was on Cloud no 9. He made into a tourney no 9 of the year by defeating Novak in the final with ease.That was after what could only be said as one of the best non grand slam semi finals of the year between Milos and Andy which was played with jaw dropping passes and strokes of the highest quality.

So a 2016 in what had begun with Novak’s complete annihilation ends with a 25 match winning streak, a first world no 1 ranking as well as Tour finals win. In all, he played a brutal 87 matches with a 78-9 record.The stamina and work ethic is at its peak. Many would now believe his resolve and the determination to challenge Djokovic particularly in best of five sets grand slam tourneys.Winning more grand slams is the next aim beginning with Novak’s back yard in Melbourne in January.For now though, he can cherish a bit of rest and a well earned break !