Epic Comeback & Routine Defeats

Rafael Nadal's Epic Comeback

Nadal at Madrid Open

After 7 months nursing a left knee injury, Rafa Nadal has made it to the finals of all 7 tournaments in which he's participated this year, collecting 5 titles along the way. His only two losses of 2013 thus far have come at the hands of Argentine Horacio Zeballos Jr., who beat him in the finals at Viña del Mar and Novak Djokovic, who deprived him of a record ninth Monte-Carlo title by defeating him in the finals in straight sets.

Still, Nadal can be more than ecstatic about his comeback performance; he defended his Barcelona title, winning that tournament for the seventh time in a row, and also found success at Brasil, Acapulco and most recently at the Mutua Madrileña Madrid Masters Open, where he triumphed over #2 Swiss player Stanislas Wawrinka, 6-2, 6-4.

While some may argue that "while the cat's away, the mice will play", one can imagine that Rafa will bury the rivalry with Djokovic in the deepest recesses of his mind and focus instead on the inevitable confidence boost of once again playing at a level high enough to achieve these astounding results. It surely is a sharp contrast to last year, where he expressed his uncertainty of ever playing professionally again.

Tennis fans around the world, however, may not have to wait very long before another Nadal-Djokovic fiasco rears its head, as the Internazionali BNL d'Italia (more widely known as the Rome Masters) has drawn these two beasts in the same half. Has Rafa exhausted himself too much to avenge the loss at Monte Carlo? Will Novak's recent aggravation of his ankle injury prevent him from undoing Nadal's status as the King of Clay? And, with the likes of showstoppers such as Dimitrov, Ferrer, Berdych and Tsonga lurking about in the shadows, will either man have the sweet, sweet pleasure of hoisting the trophy at Roland Garros? We will have to wait and see.



Serena Williams defeats Maria Sharapova......again

Sharapova (L), Williams (R)

In their 15 encounters on court, Russian beauty Maria Sharapova can boast of beating powerhouse American Serena Williams exactly two times, and both in 2004, when she was just seventeen years old - first in the finals at Wimbledon for her debut grand slam title and then at the LA Tour Championships, a hard-fought three-setter on Californian hard-courts.

Sure, MaSha's progress has been riddled with injuries, but so has Williams'. And it is Williams who has all but pulverized the Russian belle's chances of beating her for the past nine years on all surfaces, without exception. You would think that the age difference (Maria is 26, Serena 31) favors Sharapova but the stats say otherwise. The younger of the Williams sisters, Serena has dominated her head-to-head against Sharapova 13-2, making for an interesting but terribly one-sided affair every time the two meet.

The latest chapter in their rivalry? The finals at Madrid on Sunday, May 12, where Williams outmaneuvered and overpowered Sharapova 6-1, 6-4. In so doing, Williams retained her spot atop the WTA rankings, now several hundred points above Maria, and secured her 50th career title.

 Serena, in her post-match interview with the press at Madrid, said of her victory: "Every week is a battle [and]...a fight", that she felt consistency and fewer errors were the keys to her latest success on the clay there but that she was excited to hold the trophy for the second consecutive time. She will be keen to bring some of that verve to the French Open and forget all about her shocking loss to Virginie Razzano at the same tournament last year, her very first loss in the first round of a grand slam tournament in almost a decade and a half.

As the European clay court season comes to a dazzling close, there are still upsets to be had, records to be made, rivalries to one-up and names to be engraved into the history books. So keep your fingers crossed, your eyes on the ball and don't forget to breathe tennis.