In 18 matches on the Parisian clay, Rafael Nadal has yet to lose. He is the undisputed king of |Roland Garros, and against his good friend Carlos Moya he is a massive favourite to take another step towards retaining his throne in Wednesday’s quarter-final.
At the age of nearly 31, Carlos Moya is delighted to have made it this far, nine years since he won Roland Garros for the only time back in 1998. Nadal was just 12 years old when Moya lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires, but has come of age in such spectacular fashion, he has left his fellow Majorcan, and all his fellow Spaniards, in the shade.
CURRENT FORM
The superlatives roll off the tongue when describing Nadal’s current form. Awesome, breathtaking, infallible..... the list goes on. The world number 2 has simply rolled over each opponent that has stood in his way. In fact, about the only time he looked even slightly troubled was in the first set of his very first match, against Juan Martin Del Potro, as he eased his way into the tournament. Since then it has been plain sailing all the way.
Moya is back in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the fourth time in his career, and it cannot be said to be a great surprise. He looked to be on the way back to form when he defeated Novak Djokovic on his way to the semi-finals in Hamburg. That said, he has enjoyed a very favourable draw thus far, and will need to up his game a few levels if he is to stand any chance.
STRENGTH
Where to start? Nadal puts vicious top spin on his ground strokes, is blessed with incredible speed and stamina, deploys a perfect clay court slide, makes great use of the drop shot and has solid volleying skills. If all that weren’t enough, he’s a leftie and uses that singularity to his advantage, especially on his serve, when he sends his opponents scurrying way outside the doubles lines and dominates from the centre of the court. Oh, and he is a born fighter too.
Moya has always been a great court player, brought up in the Spanish school. To the top-spin forehand he adds a reliable backhand, high fitness levels, a thumping first serve, and great touch around the net. The 1998 French Open champion’s career was disrupted by a stress fracture in his back in 1999, and he has never quite been the same since. One wonders how many times he would have won in Paris had that injury not hampered him…
TACTICS
It is frankly hard to find ways Nadal can lose this match, but at a push one could point to the “friend factor.” Moya has always been a mentor for Rafa, and the young prodigy may fall into the trap of losing focus when playing his old buddy.
Moya’s best days are behind him and it is almost inconceivable he could take three sets off Nadal. He needs to play the dream match, with exceptional first serves finding their target and ground strokes finding the lines. He must not give ground either or he will go the way of his predecessors, who were pummelled into submission.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Nadal leads 3-2 overall and 2-1 on clay. The figures do not tell the whole story however. The first two matches, won by Moya, date back to 2003, when Rafa was only 17.
The last match is more representative. In Rome last year, Moya had Nadal on the back foot in the second set but ran out of steam in the third to lose 6-1, 2-6, 6-2.
