Rafael Nadal fulfilled his once-in-a-lifetime campaign by pummeling his friend and compatriot David Ferrer to a pulp in three arduous sets. The constant pushes and pulls which occurred are not reflected in the 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 final scoreline, but it was Rafa's match to win from the get-go.
In just the third game, Nadal's high-bouncing forehand whiplashes were already lethal enough to force a break out of David and the reigning champ would go up 2-1.
But the tenacious David, never mindful of the scoreboard, drew a string of errors in Nadal's would-be consolidation service game to break back for 2-2.
Ferrer then held serve with tidy play at the net, followed by Nadal's hold with fewer errors than his previous service game.
Two heartrending breaks of serve in Nadal's benefit hinted at the fact that Ferrer was the less competent player on court, and so the first set went to Rafa, 6-3.
Off the bat in the second set, Rafa broke for 2-0 despite truly superb efforts from Ferrer and consolidated the lead with a series of winners. 3-1 Nadal.
Game 5 of set 2 was chock full of deuces and break points, the fourth of which Nadal sent packing with a flat and low backhand pass that fell just inside the baseline corner of the ad court almost at his command. Soon after, Rafa would hold for 4-1.
Now, the tone was getting more sombre as neither inexhaustible competitor was about to subside in contest for the title.
Nadal paused play on Ferrer's serve at 4-1, 30-15 to glare at members of the audience who refused to sit and be quiet, despite repeated requests in that respect from the chair umpire. The French crowd was not very fond of his annoyed disposition, and Ferrer used the mental preoccupation plaguing Nadal to erase three break points; still, Nadal found a way to get the break on the fifth chance to go up 5-1.
Before Nadal could serve next, a shirtless fan with a lighted flare had to be shoved off the court. Perhaps fazed and momentarily afraid, Nadal played a tight game and surrendered the break 5-2.
Next it was David Ferrer who got tight and lost a quick but significant game on serve to lose the set 6-2 and hand the reins back to Nadal.
Rafa started the third set with a love hold in five minutes, still energized after one hour and thirty-nine minutes of play, then broke Ferrer's serve for a 2-0 lead.
Ferrer was not making it at all easy for Nadal, who was beginning to serve and retrieve poorly after almost two hours working with the new "old" knee on court. This gave Ferrer the chance to break back at 0-40, which he did, but the exertion necessary to out-stroke Nadal was apparent in his body language. Luckily for them both, a steady drizzle paused play just long enough for them to compose themselves.
Deceptively re-energized, Ferrer stepped back onto court when the skies cleared up a bit and consolidated the break for 2-all. Nadal too was relentless in battle and kept his neck out in front with a 3-2 hold.
Sacrificing accuracy for aggression, David was going all out on his shots and hence making a heap of errors, allowing Rafa to maintain the lead. Something or someone on the side of the court from which Rafa was complaining in the second set seemed to be troubling Ferrer; he and Nadal exchanged a knowing look and a wry smile, and David continued trucking on, 3-3.
Two hours and six minutes into the match, Nadal won a pivotal seventh game to go up 4-3.
Another nervous game from Ferrer culminated with a double fault that gave Rafa the break for 5-3. Serving for the match, Nadal let Ferrer hammer the nails into his own coffin by forcing errors in order to get to double championship point.
Straight-faced, he took to the baseline and sealed his place in the hall of tennis fame with a helluva big serve followed by his favorite forehand, irretrievable by what was left of the crushed spirit in David Ferrer. Then he was on the ground, ritualistic even in celebration, as he soiled his shirt in the red dirt that adores him and covered his face with his hands.
Rafa can now boast a whopping twelve major titles, on par with Roy Emerson and eclipsed only by Pete Sampras's fourteen and Roger Federer's insuperable seventeen titles. That isn't bad for a guy whose physicality has been both the boon and bane of his performance.
But Roger already had fifteen titles in 2009 when he was the same age that Rafa is now (27 years). So will Rafa be able to overtake him? It certainly isn't at the forefront of his mind; Nadal says he is focused only on continuing to play consistently well for as long as he can.
We're the ones who want to see if he can make it there and who, if anyone (*cough* Djokovic), can stop him. With the clay season wrapped up (mostly in Nadal's trophy case), and the green grass of Wimbledon just on the horizon, we won't have to wait too long to get some answers.
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| Rafael Nadal (L) accepts the French Open trophy from Usain Bolt (R) |
Breathe tennis!!
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