IT was a foregone conclusion and yet I had hoped things would turn out differently.
Perhaps, just this one time, Roger Federer would beat Rafael Nadal, his old nemesis on court, on the surface that the latter had dominated, despite the slight hiccup this season, for more than a decade.
But judging by the score in this year’s semifinals of the French Open in Roland Garros (6-3, 6-4, 6-2), Nadal would always be Federer’s Achilles heel.
At least on clay.
Still, it was painful to watch the Swiss tennis sensation not being able to perform his usual magic. There were times when I thought he’d pull a rabbit out of his hat, but alas Nadal was there to quickly kill the bunny, skin it and then make a mean Conill al Romesco, which by the way, goes well with a delicate Pinot Noir.
So it was not Federer’s day. But he knew that already after beating his countryman Stan Wawrinka in four sets in the quarterfinals.
After his victory, he told the crowd at Court Suzanne Lenglen about his foreshadowing, delivered in typical dry humor.
“My next opponent is not too bad. He can play on clay, unfortunately,” the legend said.
Malheureusement.
The last time they played on the red surface was way back in 2011, when Nadal dismantled Federer’s game after three hours and 40 minutes in four sets.
It wasn’t a clean win, yet the Mallorcan persevered as he usually does when he plays on clay.
Just take a look at the statistics: 11 French Open, 11 Monte Carlo Masters and 11 Barcelona titles.
According to Wikipedia, Nadal “has the longest single surface win streak in matches (clay courts, 81) and in sets (clay courts, 50) in the history of the Open era.”
Of his 81 career titles, 58 were on the slow surface.
The 33-year-old Nadal won his first Grand Slam in Roland Garros in 2005, where he beat—surprise, surprise—the then no. 1 Federer in the semifinals on the former’s 19th birthday.
The two went on to play four more finals in Paris, with Nadal emerging triumphant on all occasions.
Mind you, Federer did win the French Open back in 2009. But that was against Swede Robin Soderling, who stunned Nadal in the fourth round.
Strangely enough, I haven’t always been a Federer fan. When he burst on the scene, I was playing way past my prime.
I grew up idolizing Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert then Jim Courier and Monica Seles. Courier and Seles, who are closer to my age, both made their marks at the French Open.
Seles was 16 when she beat then no. 1 Steffi Graff in straight sets in 1990 for her first ever Grand Slam.
Seles went on to win two more French Opens and would have dominated women’s tennis had she not been stabbed by a Graff fan while on court in Germany a month before the French Open in 1993.
In 2010, my interest in the sport waned. Probably because I finally admitted that I would and could never be a professional player. I haven’t even picked up a racket in seven years.
Then in 2017, Federer, then ranked 17th, battled it out with the ninth-seeded Nadal to win the Australian Open final.
Federer trailed 1-3 in the fifth and final set only to win five games in a row to take the title.
Although I have yet to return to court, Federer’s resurgence made me realize that there is hope for old fogies like me yet, especially against geriatric opponents.