A semi-finalist in 2005, and a finalist in 2006, Roger Federer will be hoping to go one better – at last – and win Roland Garros for the first time. The first man ever to reach eight consecutive Grand Slam finals, the world number one would hold the Grand Slam over two seasons should he win. The Swiss has won his last 27 matches in Grand Slams, and you would think that stat alone would make him a favourite in Sunday’s final. Yet as we all know, Rafael Nadal, on clay, is the one man who actually goes into a match with Roger Federer truly confident he can win.
Rafael Nadal has never lost at Roland Garros! Twice a champion here already, he has won 20 out of the 20 matches he has played since he first took to the Parisian clay back in 2005. On Sunday, he has the chance to equal Bjorn Borg’s record of three straight triumphs at the French Open. World number 2 behind Roger Federer for nearly 100 weeks now, Nadal is a pretender to the Swiss’s throne at every Grand Slam except here, where he is the undisputed top dog. Still only 21, should he pick up a third French Open trophy on Sunday he will surely have Bjorn Borg’s all-time total of titles in his sights.
CURRENT FORM
Some foolish souls wondered out loud whether Federer may be on the decline after his (relatively) indifferent form early on in the clay court season and subsequent split with coach Tony Roche. The Swiss banished any such talk by bringing Nadal’s run of straight wins on clay to an end in Hamburg, simultaneously lifting the hopes of all the pretenders to the French Open. He’s been bang on form here in Paris too, having spent less time on court (12hrs 33mins), than Nadal (13hrs 24mins). He did lose a set to Tommy Robredo in the quarters, but that only pushed him to play his best tennis of the week. He then held off Nikolay Davydenko in typical fashion in their semi-final, doing just enough in two tie-breaks to win in straight sets.
The Majorcan’s incredible run of 81 straight wins on clay was finally brought to and end by defeat in Hamburg at the hands of today’s opponent. If anyone thought for a moment Rafa would be knocked off course by that loss, they were mistaken. Nadal has been in destructive form, and has not dropped a set on his run to the final. Should he win the final in three too, he will join Ilie Nastase (1973) and Borg (1978-1980) in the record books as the only men to win the French Open without dropping a set.
STRENGTH
Federer has it all: a great service, brilliant volley, sublime touch, clever variation, and a perfectly disguised drop shot. Added to those technical attributes, he has a winner’s mentality too, and the touch of class that only the great champions have. His serve got him out of trouble a few times against Davydenko, and he will need to find the same groove against Nadal.
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. His cross-court play has been quite simply breathtaking this year. 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.
TACTICS
Whoever wins will have earned it, that’s for sure! Federer has to take the match by the scruff of the neck and not let go. His serve has to fire and he needs to attack, attack, attack on the return of serve. He has been coming to the net more and more as the tournament has progressed, and surely has to keep on taking his chances there.
Nadal’s game is all about power and top-spin. On clay, the combination of the two is deadly, especially on the forehand side, and the Spaniard is merciless in the use of his main weapon. His serve is crushing, his volleying secure, and opponents tend to wilt under the barrage, even more so this year as his strength has increased. So it will be more of the same from Nadal. The question is, can Federer withstand the onslaught and get his young challenger on the back foot.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
This is the 12th time Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have met, and it is the Spaniard who leads, 7-4. The head to head score on clay is even more impressive, 5-1 to the world number 2. Perhaps most importantly however, Federer won their last encounter on the surface, 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 in Hamburg.
This is their fourth meeting in Grand Slams. The Spaniard won both previous matches here in Paris, while Federer won the final of “his” Grand Slam, Wimbledon, last year. Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal is the latest in the line of classic match-ups that have dotted the history of tennis. The rivalry between the two is utterly intense, so this should be a captivating final.
