COVER STORY: JUNE 2007

By Matthew Cronin

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ome day, the Spanish baby bull may be called the greatest clay courter ever and that’s no small thought to swallow, considering the size of the legend he would have to replace - the nearly invincible Bjorn Borg.

But even though Borg grabbed six crowns at the clay court cathedral, the French Open, he never came close to matching Rafael Nadal’s win streak on clay, now 78 wins in a row and counting.

Consider this about the two-time Roland Garros champion’s streak. Entering Hamburg, Nadal’s streak was 25 MATCHES longer than the previous record held by Hall of Famer Guillermo Vilas.

“That’s a big mark,” John McEnroe said. “I don’t see any guy who can beat him. He’s unbelievable. I can’t see any guy who can beat him unless he gets hurt, or it’s really windy, or something freaky and weird happens.”

Like maybe Borg coming back for the third time, and this time as a 20-year-old in his prime?

As Johnny Mac said, unless global warming reaches warp speed and melts the orange clay down to asphalt, Nadal will enter the French Open as the heaviest favorite since the sleet-footed Borg went for his third crown in a row in ‘80. Nadal hasn’t lost a match on clay since falling to Igor Andreev in April 2005. This year, he really hasn’t even been pushed on his native surface, smoking top-ranked Roger Federer in Monte Carlo (his fifth victory in five tries on dirt over the Swiss) and blasting Federer foil Guillermo Canas for his third crown in Barcelona and then pasting Fernando Gonzalez for his third straight TMS Rome title.

“He’s certainly better than the rest of the field,” said two-time Roland champion Jim Courier. “The streak doesn’t lie. It’s on one of the most impressive streaks in sports. It’s a one on one competition and clay is the most physically demanding surface. You can’t mail it in on clay. You have to grind your way through it and he’s consistently done that. It’s not getting as much attention in the US because we don’t follow tennis at this time of year and that’s a shame. He is already one of the great clay court players ever. He’s very physical, the lefty-ness helps him, the spin he generates with his racket and his sheer physique. Obviously, he’s a gamer because you cannot fake it this long on clay. It will expose you.”

Nadal may end up being the best ever on dirt, but in the grand scheme of producing all-time greats, clay-court success isn’t translating into fast-track Hall of Fame inductions like it once did.

Since the heady Mats Wilander won three Grand Slams in ‘88, only one non-American player who grew up sliding on clay has been able to become a champion on other surfaces - Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who won the ‘96 French Open and ‘99 Australian Open. 

The only current non-American who has put up eye-popping results on dirt and looks like he might be able to break through on other surfaces is Nadal. Last year, the speedy and ultra-competitive Spaniard followed up his thumping of top-ranked Roger Federer in the Roland Garros final with an entirely unexpected and impressive march to the Wimbledon final, where Federer got a good measure of revenge. Nadal has also won three Tennis Masters Series on hardcourts, including this year’s title at Indian Wells.  

But while his Wimbledon run was extraordinary, Nadal was unable to break through there and the 20-year-old has yet to make his mark at either the Australian or U.S. Opens. Afterall, Nadal grew up on clay and learned to play standout defense before he was taught high-octane offense. He’s still making substantial adjustments on faster surfaces. On clay, Nadal simply wears opponents down with tireless running, retrieving and heavily top-spinned groundstrokes. On faster surfaces, he’s forced to hit through the court more, and it’s not as easy to catch up to his opponent’s big blasts.

Given his overall talent level and his unquenchable desire, Nadal may end up making the necessary adjustments and become much more than a clay-court great. If he does so, he will be an exception to the rule.

The 1970s and 1980s saw many of its major figures compete well on every surface - the great Borg, who won six French Opens and five Wimbledons; Ilie Nastase, who won the French and U.S. Opens; Ivan Lendl, who won three French, three U.S. and two Australians; and of course Wilander, who won three French, three Australians and one U.S. Open.

But since Wilander nearly won the calendar year Grand Slam in ‘88 - he went down at Wimbledon - and Kafelnikov keenly adjusted his groundstrokes to hardcourts, there have been a series of Europeans and South Americans who have been triumphant in Paris, and sorrowful in the sport’s three other major cities.    

Gustavo Kuerten, the three-time French Open champ from Brazil, reached No. 1 and also won a couple of sizeable events on hardcourts, but his best result at the other majors was a quarterfinal. Five members of the Spanish Armada have won Roland Garros crowns since ‘93, when the human backboard, Sergi Bruguera, won two straight titles. Three of those men - Carlos Moya, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Nadal - have reached Slam finals on other surfaces, but came up short. Albert Costa won the ‘02 French crown, but only reached a quarter of a non-clay court Slam. Argentine Gaston Gaudio won the ‘04 French, but has put up poor results since then.

In part due to geography but mostly because of its surface, the French has now taken on Super Bowl proportions for clay court specialists. Alberto Berasategui, the ‘94 finalist, said, “It’s the most important tournament to most of us.”

With failure on other surfaces has come an increased emphasis on a player’s surface of choice, which is why the dirtballers consistently defend clay as the true indicator of just how good a player really is. Most of them will say that their backcourt games can transfer well to hardcourts or at times, to grass, but deep down, they believe that the guy who can survive an exhausting two months of war on a surface that demands strength, patience and intelligence is the man who should be crowned king of his sport.

“One thing is for sure, you cannot win [the French Open] with a serve only,” said Thomas Muster, who won the ‘95 Roland garros title but failed to win another major. “The more complete players win it.”

While that contention may have a marginal merit when viewing the results of French Open greats at the other majors, some names like Borg, Wilander and Lendl were all able to fine-tune their clay-bred games and achieve all-around success.

But first they had to earn their stripes on the Terre Bateau, which Nadal has already done, and then some. He’s only 20, yet he’s already won 20 titles, 17 of them on clay. For his part, Federer had won three titles at a similar age.  So while the muscular Spaniard and his coach, his uncle, Tony, can be criticized for not working quickly enough on adapting his style to hard courts, he’s way ahead of Federer at this point. “Sometimes people forget I’m only 20,” Nadal said. “I need a little bit more time playing without this pressure in every tournament.  ‘You need to win.’  I try my best always, but I know I can lose every match.  I can win every one. I just want to enjoy my career. I love play with a little bit of pressure, with the competition, but I don’t want more pressure.”

But for now, that’s Nadal’s fate. The muscle-bound Spaniard can’t escape the expectations that come with a No. 2 ranking, or the astounding fact that he has 7-3 lifetime record against Federer, who some have already anointed as the best ever. A player like Nadal cannot display an incredible ability to close out matches at such a young age, to run down every ball thrown at him, to psyche out the world’s best with his heavy lefty spin and then not expect the universe to get excited about his No. 1 prospects.

Off clay, the Mallorcan’s offense is sometimes lacking. He keeps saying he needs to be more aggressive. But on many occasions, he still plays way too far behind the court. His service motion is still a little stiff and given what an imposing physical specimen he is, his first serve should be much more powerful. His better option is to mix up slice and kick serves, but he doesn’t always place them well enough.

His groundstrokes and his speed are what wins him matches - his hooking, jumping lefty forehand and his rifle shot two-handed backhand. Yet for some reason, as well as he strikes the ball off the ground, he doesn’t go for his service returns enough and too often is content to merely play himself into rallies, rather than try and rip winners down the line on occasion.

But at practice, you can see him trying to get better, pushing further inside the court, not giving away the center of the court.  “The serve every year I improve more and more,” he said.  “I am trying to play a little bit more aggressive. I can improve the volley, everything, but especially the mentality for playing  [more aggressive] with my forehand.  And I am doing that, so I am happy.”

Nadal smiles a great deal, but you can tell he’s burning inside to get back into the main ring with Federer or any other taker at the French Open. No player has pulled off a trifecta since Borg, who won four straight Roland Garros titles from 1978-1981. “Nadal’s such a sharp mind,” said Muster, another lefty who went on a huge win streak on clay. “He’s so focused on tennis, on what he’s doing, he so wants to win, he so lives and eats tennis, he sleeps tennis. Everything he does turns around tennis. “

Who knows, some day later this year, it’s conceivable that Nadal could be challenging the ethereal Federer for the top spot. But in June, his eyes will be firmly fixed on winning the world’s clay court Slam. “I just have to improve,” he said. “ I can’t stop.  And sometimes when you are improving, it’s not easy to win. I’m trying to be best player every year. If my goal is be prepared any day I have the chance to be No. 1.”

 

 

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