With Gold in Hand, Nadal Now Eyes New York

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

He’s the French Open champion, the Wimbledon champion, the Olympic gold medalist, and, as of today, the no. 1 player in the world. When Rafael Nadal arrives in New York City this week, he’ll be one feat from the most remarkable summer of tennis since Rod Laver’s in 1969, when the remarkable Australian won all four major titles in the same year. If he wins the U.S. Open, Nadal, already worthy of mention among the game’s all-time greats, will become one of its undisputed legends.

In Beijing yesterday, Nadal finished off his record streak of days as the world’s second best player with a convincing 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3 victory over Fernando Gonzalez of Chile. Less than two years ago, Gonzalez, a thickly built, aggressive player who hits the hardest forehand in tennis, demolished Nadal at the Australian Open. Nadal showed yesterday how much he has improved since then. Power remains the best weapon against Nadal, but it doesn’t do the damage it once did. More often than not these days, Nadal dictates play and does not rely on defense. His forehand is, without doubt, the best shot in tennis and his powers of concentration the most formidable in the world. He started slowly in Beijing (he arrived with a cold) but by the end of the week, he looked nearly invincible. Only Novak Djokovic, the Serb who won the Australian Open and the bronze medal over American James Blake yesterday, could test Nadal’s limits at this tournament.

In Flushing, Nadal traditionally plays his worst tennis of the season. It’s the only major tournament where he hasn’t reached at least the semifinals. This year, though, one gets the sense that things will be different. The surface in Beijing was manufactured by the same company that builds courts for the U.S. Open, so there’s no doubt Nadal can play his best on a fast hard court. He might suffer from fatigue, but what he lacks in early energy he’ll undoubtedly make up for in confidence — winning 38 out of 39 matches over the course of three months will do that for you. Perhaps the most reasonable question is, does any man in the world believe he can beat Nadal at his best?

Roger Federer, who will be seeded second at the Open, can’t afford to think about Nadal — he has more urgent problems at the moment. Not long ago, Federer was unbeatable. Lately, he’s liable to vanish, and without much of a fight, against opponents who once couldn’t touch him — men such as Blake, who beat Federer for the first time in nine tries at this tournament. Federer won his first Olympic medal this weekend, a gold in doubles with partner Stanislas Wawrinka (American twins Bob and Mike Bryan took the bronze). At one point in the Swiss pair’s wild celebration, Federer kneeled over Wawrinka and performed what looked like an exorcism. Will the demons remain in Beijing, or follow Federer to Flushing, where he has won the last four titles? If Federer hopes to break Pete Sampras’s record of 14 major titles, he probably can’t afford to remain stuck on 12 for much longer. Federer is on the shakiest ground of his career since becoming no. 1 in February 2004 and there would be no better way to regain his footing than to beat Nadal in the U.S. Open final. If, that is, he can get to the final at all.

The Olympics not only magnified the power shift atop men’s tennis, they called further attention to the chaos in the women’s game. The eventual gold medalist, Elena Dementieva, outlasted Dinara Safina 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, thanks in part to 17 double faults by Safina.

Consider the 26-year-old Dementieva’s gold a reward for past suffering. Few women have ever swung a tennis racket like the Russian, whose muscular legs and broad shoulders are perfectly suited to slugging the ball. Yet few women have ever served as poorly as she does or struggled so mightily to tame their nerves. In her two trips to major finals, Dementieva played horribly. In Beijing, though, she seemed to perform with the confidence one often sees from her in the Davis Cup, another international competition where nationality comes before personal glory. Dementieva, who won a silver medal in Sydney in 2000, says she puts the Olympics ahead of the sport’s major tournaments, so this will remain the finest moment of her career no matter how well she performs at the U.S. Open, where she reached the final in 2004, and beyond.

Venus and Serena Williams were favorites to win in singles and in doubles at this event, but could only deliver in doubles (they lost two games in the gold medal match). It was fitting, however, that Serena lost to the Russian Dementieva and Venus to Li Na of China. Russia, which swept the singles medals, has been the first nation of women’s tennis in recent years. China might be the game’s next superpower. Yan Zi and Zheng Jie won the bronze medal in doubles, China’s second medal in tennis (another team won the doubles gold in Athens in 2004). In the last 10 years, no country has invested as much in tennis as China. Chances are there are many more medals, and perhaps major titles, to come.

Mr. Perrotta is a senior editor at Tennis magazine. He can be reached at tperrotta@tennismagazine.com.


The New York Sun

© 2024 The New York Sun Company, LLC. All rights reserved.

Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. The material on this site is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used.

The New York Sun

Sign in or  Create a free account

By continuing you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use