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Rafael Nadal captures eighth French Open crown
Rafael Nadal captures eighth French Open crown
Rafael Nadal is listed at 6-foot-1, 188 pounds, but he looks much bigger.
He hits the heaviest forehand in tennis, which is even tougher to return because he is left-handed. That torque routinely sends the ball bounding up and out of an opponent's comfort zone. And then there is his dazzling speed, an astonishing ability to retrieve and turn defense, on a dime, into offense. And more than any of these attributes, Nadal has impeccable -- and unmatched -- mental toughness.
His uncle Miguel was a professional soccer player of some skill, and Rafa could probably play free safety in the NFL. But tennis was his sport of choice, and one week into his 28th year, he has already established himself as one of the best players ever.
On clay, all of Nadal's attributes are even more effective. And at Roland Garros, on the largest clay court in the world, he is virtually unbeatable.
Sunday, on a cool, drizzly afternoon on Court Philippe Chatrier, where the only real drama involved a shirtless, flare-carrying protestor, Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. It was his unprecedented eighth French Open title in nine tries.
"I never like to compare years, but it's true that this year means something very special for me," Rafa said afterward. "Five months ago nobody of my team dreamed about one comeback like this because we thought that [was] going to be impossible. But here we are today, and that's really fantastic and incredible."
Somehow, his moniker, "The King of Clay," fails to capture the majesty of his dominance, for Rafa has now:
• won 59 of 60 matches in this hallowed place, the best record for any player at any Grand Slam. And he turned 27 only a week ago.
• surpassed all rivals for consistent excellence in a single Grand Slam. Roger Federer and Pete Sampras each won seven Wimbledon titles, but no one has ever raised the trophy eight times in any major. Rafa, a notorious creature of habit, has.
• beaten Ferrer, his good friend, Davis Cup teammate and frequent video-game partner nine straight times and has taken 16 of their past 17 matches. Ferrer, it should be mentioned, is the No. 5-ranked player in the world.
• won 12th Grand Slam singles title, distancing him from the (truly) great Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg.
And, now that he has 12 major titles, is it too early to think he might actually catch Federer and his record of 17?
"Of course," Nadal said, "winning 17 Grand Slam titles, that's miles away from me. I'm not even thinking about it." Even if it's true, that doesn't mean the rest of us can't.
To be honest, the imminent threat of rain was far more concerning than anything Ferrer might do. He is a gifted counterpuncher, with extraordinary hand-eye coordination. But, giving nearly four inches and nearly 30 pounds in the tale of the tape, Ferrer doesn't have a single weapon -- beyond guile -- that can hurt Rafa.
Afterward, Ferrer said the wet court hurt him more than Nadal.
"To beat Rafael in clay court, I need to play more aggressive," Ferrer said. "But when the court is slower, it's very difficult. He has more power than me with his shots, and it's very difficult for to beat him."
Because of the vagaries of the ATP World Tour ranking system, Nadal will actually lose a spot on Monday.
"It's strange, no?" Ferrer said. "I lost the final against Rafael, but tomorrow I am going to be No. 4 and him No. 5.
"I prefer to win here and to stay No. 5."
It was a dreary day in Paris. It began with the top of the Eiffel Tower shrouded in fog. Drizzle -- more of a mist, really -- didn't prevent the 11 a.m. doubles legends from playing on Court Suzanne Lenglen or affect the women's doubles final an hour later on Chatrier.
Nadal won the first set by breaking Ferrer's serve twice, the decisive one coming at 3-all, when Rafa reached out and knocked a cross-court backhand past the oncoming Ferrer. Five minutes into the second set, the rain became more significant. Nadal and Ferrer didn't seem to notice. Nadal broke Ferrer in the second game of the second set.
Ferrer, to his credit, kept swinging. He had two break points in the fifth game, but Rafa erased them both, the second with a hard-to-believe backhand cross-court pass.
With Rafa serving at 5-1, there were, literally, fireworks. A protester, carrying a flare, ran onto the court, sending security men scrambling. The man and his red flare were body-slammed into the player entrance behind Nadal. And although Rafa laughed it off, he seemed rattled and Ferrer broke him to make it 5-2.
Naturally, Nadal broke him back to take the second set, and the coronation was officially under way.
Technically, Nadal was the No. 3 seed here because his ranking dropped during a long injury sabbatical. Eleven months ago, he was upset in the second round at Wimbledon and didn't take the court again for seven months. Gradually, the torn patella tendon in his left knee mended, and he returned in February for the modest South American clay-court season.
All Rafa did was get to the final of every tournament he played -- nine, including this fortnight at Roland Garros.
Here, he was physically compromised as the tournament progressed. Coming off a spectacular five-set, 4-hour, 37-minute semifinal victory over No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic, Nadal had logged six more hours of court time than Ferrer, who hadn't dropped a set.
The way Rafa played Sunday, you never would have known.
"Eight times here is a lot," Rafa said, stating the obvious. "I never thought about that. But, sure, I will keep practicing with the same passion and intensity to bring my tennis to the highest level possible, no? As I always say, I don't know if I can do it, the only thing I am sure is I will try; and I will."
In a news conference the day before the match, Nadal paid tribute to Ferrer and, frankly, may have oversold him.
"I don't feel favorite," Nadal said. "He's a player that brings you to the limit. He's a player that if you are not playing perfect, you will be in big, big trouble."
Nadal is a two-time champion at the All England Club and a five-time finalist. He and Djokovic won't play a warm-up tournament and should be fully rested for another go. Andy Murray, the Olympic champion on his home court, is competing this week at Queen's Club.
Nine years ago, on the cusp of his 18th birthday, Nadal visited Roland Garros for the first time. A stress fracture in his left ankle forced him out of the tournament, but he returned a year later and won it, defeating Mariano Puerta in the final.
A fourth-round loss to Robin Soderling in 2009 marks the only time Nadal has been beaten here.
Rafa needed a little time to compose himself before his last serve, but there was no warning for a violation. And when he crushed a forehand cross court, he fell, spread-eagled, in typical fashion onto his back.
Nadal has another superlative to consider: He has now won a Grand Slam in nine consecutive calendar years. Bjorn Borg (1974-81), Pete Sampras (1993-2000) and Roger Federer (2003-10) all managed to do it for eight straight seasons.
Furthermore, no man before Sunday had ever missed two consecutive Grand Slams and come back to win the next one.
No one until Rafael Nadal.
"This one is very special one," said Nadal, who returned in February after a seven-month layoff to rest his ailing knees. "When you have period of time like I had, you realize that you don't know if you will have the chance to be back here with this trophy another time."
Nadal is the first man to win eight Grand Slam titles at any major.
With 12 majors overall, the 27-year-old Spaniard moves into a tie for third place with Roy Emerson. He trails only Roger Federer (17) and Pete Sampras (14) and is the second youngest, after Federer, to reach a dozen Grand Slam titles.
"Rafael, in important moments, he's the best," Ferrer said.
Nadal's march to the title started fitfully. He lost sets in the first two rounds for the first time in his career, but then rounded into form just in time for a clash with Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
Nadal prevailed against the No. 1 Serb 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3-7), 9-7 in a match that lasted nearly five hours.
Nadal is now 59-1 in Paris, his only loss coming to Robin Soderling in the fourth round in 2009.
Following his layoff, Nadal planned his return so that he could return on his preferred clay, which is easier on his knees. He quickly found his feet on dirt. The Mallorca native has reached finals in all nine tournaments he's entered, winning seven.
Noisy protesters, including one who briefly entered the field of play with a fiery flare, interrupted play in Sunday's 2-hour, 16-minute final.
About the protests, French Open tournament director Gilbert Ysern said he was happy with the response of security personnel.
"At least we could see that when something happens our security are pretty efficient," he said. "They acted efficiently and quickly and handled it very well. In a certain way you feel a bit more comfortable in an incident like that."
The players appeared to be rattled. Both lost serve immediately after the incident.
"I felt a little bit scared at the first moment because I didn't see what's going on. I just turned there and I watch a guy with some fire," Nadal said. "It's one of those things that nobody can prevent."
A guard stood near Nadal, protecting him, while the protester was subdued. Nadal took a couple of steps back to get away from the protester and, once the protester had been wrestled to the ground, shook the guard's hand before resuming play.
"Thank you very much to all the security guys. They did just amazing work," Nadal said. "They (were) very quick and they were very courageous."
"I didn't lose my focus," Ferrer said. "Rafael, he was scared a little bit. But nothing happened, so it's OK."
Ysern told Bloomberg News 10 people were arrested. He also said the tournament would be reviewing its security procedures.
A light drizzle also fell at times during the match, but nothing deterred Nadal from maintaining his hegemony at Roland Garros.
Nadal upped his record in major finals to 12-5. Ferrer, 31, was contesting his first Grand Slam final.
When the rankings come out on Monday, Ferrer actually will move ahead of Nadal, No. 4 to No. 5.
Both finalists grinded away from the baseline, with one rally lasting so long fans began to buzz, then started to shush each other.
The 5-foot-9 Ferrer, who was playing in his first Grand Slam final at age 31, often wins points by extending them with his dogged defense. But Nadal matched his retrieving skills, and the torque on his groundstrokes eventually had Ferrer reeling.
"Rafael was better than me," Ferrer said. "He served better; he played very aggressive with his forehand. He didn't make mistakes. He played more regular and consistent than me."
Trophy presenter Usain Bolt watched from the front row wearing sunglasses, even though the day was gray with occasional drizzle.
Nadal misfired more than usual in the early going, perhaps adjusting to slow conditions and feeling the effects of his 4½-hour win over Djokovic. He gave back an early service break and had to erase two other break points in the opening set.
It was the first set Ferrer had lost in the tournament, and at that point, he knew he faced a daunting task. Nadal is 146-3 when he wins the first set in Grand Slam tournaments.
Nadal broke again early in the second set, and then came Ferrer's best chance to reverse the course of the match. At 3-1 he had four break points, but Nadal erased them all, the last with a backhand winner to end a 31-shot rally, longest of the match.
In the final set, Ferrer double-faulted for the fifth time to lose serve and fall behind 5-3, and Nadal needed only five more points to close out the victory.
Nadal broke the record for most men's victories at Roland Garros he had shared with Federer and Guillermo Vilas. He improved to 20-4 against Ferrer and has won 17 consecutive meetings on clay.
"These are things I was watching on TV when I was a kid," Nadal said. "I thought, 'I hope I can make it on such a court.' My dream became reality."
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