Slim hope for Federer on red clay
World's top player will continue to be second-best to Nadal in Paris
 | Rafael Nadal, right, has an incredible spin on his shots on red clay, one of the things that will enable him to continue his mastery over Roger Federer at the French Open, writes Bud Collins of MSNBC.com. |
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PARIS - For those myself included who thought Roger Federer figured out the puzzle that is Rafael Nadal on clay by beating the Spaniard on the surface three weeks ago in Hamburg, it's time to think again.
The Hamburg win boosted Federer's confidence and served as inspiration for him upon his arrival in Paris. But for the third straight year Nadal went about his business with perfection at the French Open, remaining unbeaten in his three appearances at this major and upping his Roland Garros record to 21-0 by beating Federer 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the men's singles final.
Back to square one for Federer
Unless Nadal forgets to get out of bed one year, it’s going to be very hard for Federer to emerge as champion of the French Open, the only major which he has not won. There aren't any positives Federer can take away from his latest heavyweight dirt bout with Nadal. It was another four-set failure here for Federer, just like in the final last year and the semifinals in 2005. If there’s a self-help book with a title of something like, “If I’m the best player how come I can’t win on clay,” I’m sure Federer has read it over and over again.
Federer's latest loss to Nadal is very deflating for him. He thought he had arrived at a method to beat Nadal on clay courts, but he’s lost to the Spaniard six of the seven times they've played on dirt. Federer keeps hearing he’s the best player in the world, the rankings tell him that as well. But the truth is there’s one surface where that not true, and that's on clay.
It's probably fair to compare Federer to Pete Sampras, but at least the Swiss star has made it to two finals here while Sampras only reached one French Open semifinal. In many ways, Federer has fallen into the obsessive trap of winning the French Open, similar to the trap Ivan Lendl fell into in his hunger to win Wimbledon, and Bjorn Borg fell into in his hunger to win the U.S. Open.
The Swiss star won't give up trying to rule on the red clay and I don’t know yet until we see how his entire career plays out whether not winning here, if that happens, will play large on his legacy. He looks in good position to go on and break Sampras’ record of 14 titles at the majors. But I do say that you’re not a complete player if you don’t win in Paris.
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A spin that wins
Nadal is just way too much of a force on this red dirt they call clay here in Europe. The incredible spin he gets on shots can be hypnotic to an opponent, and that can certainly be mentally wearing to someone facing the star southpaw. Just ask Federer or any of those who have fallen to Nadal. They have been spun to defeat. The casual tennis fan who watched this French Open title tilt might very well be wondering how Federer and not Nadal is ranked No. 1 in the world.
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You know how they tell a pitcher in baseball to stick the ball in the batter's ear. Well, Nadal can stick the ball in any opponent’s ear with the way his spinning shot bounces. Nadal has the weapons and he also has the smarts. He proved relentless in attacking to his opponent's weaker side, the backhand. There were some rallies where Federer was forced to hit half a dozen backhands. And with Federer's forehand not what it normally is, Nadal was in command and rolling to another title.
The latest chapter of Federer-Nadal was played out in heat, the warmest day of the tournament, with the temperature reaching 81 degrees. The heat seemed an afterthought to Nadal. He wasn't letting it get into his head or affect his style of play in the slightest. Nadal consistently ran down down shots all over the court, sprinting when he had to without ever showing that such efforts were taking a toll on his stamina.
I’m truly looking forward to watching Nadal during the next few years because he’s so young (21), so strong, and so talented, he can only get better and better. The best is yet to come from Nadal and it boggles the mind to think how good that could be. Yes, he's been wildly successful on dirt, but Nadal's game is not going to limit him to just being the King of Clay.
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