Sports Then and Now

Could Rafael Nadal and Robin Soderling develop the next great rivalry in tennis?

In 1997 Patrick Rafter won his first major at the US Open, thanks to his agile movement, big-kicking serve and unparalleled net coverage. Though this put him exactly nine majors behind Pete Sampras at that point in their careers, it was easy to begin wondering how the two would match up in future encounters.

Still, the two weren’t truly rivals yet; Sampras was 5-1 against the Australian at that point and would add three more lopsided victories over Rafter to his tally that fall. Plus, with the bulk of his accomplishments and the fact that he had a commanding lead in the race for No. 1, few could seriously claim that the two were players of equal stature.

To become a rival to Sampras, Rafter would have to beat the American, and take something he wanted.

That would come in 1998, when the Australian rallied from down a set to top Sampras at the Cincinnati Masters tourney. Sampras had already won Wimbledon that year, and Rafter’s successes for 1998 were just beginning; still, Sampras hungered for the points that event would bring him. He was pursuing the year-end ranking for the sixth consecutive year – a record – and Marcelo Rios was hot on his heels. Read the rest of this entry →

Will we see "Rafa-Lite" in 2010?

The fans are getting worried.

The media have begun to discuss it openly.

And last week, at London’s O2 arena, it was the first topic on the lips of almost every spectator—and not just between his fans.

The subject of all this attention is the diminishing musculature of Rafael Nadal since his extended break with tendonitis over the summer.

So in the light of Nadal’s poor results during the Round Robin phase of the World Tour Finals, is there real cause for concern? And is there any foundation for all this talk of weight loss?

There have been several “checkpoints” during the year from which to make a first-hand comparison of Nadal’s stature, thus removing from any debate the dictum that “television puts on 10lbs.”

The starting point was the clay season—the photograph on the left was taken at Rome. Here the standard edition Rafa was on show, all shoulder, bicep, pectorals and calves.

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Rafael Nadal's competitive fire has made him a champion

Talent is the beginning, not the end.

There are so many other traits that a tennis player must have to be a champion. Fitness is crucial, as is willingness to prioritize the game above other interests.

But nothing stretches talent and maximizes it quite like mental strength. When most modern tennis fans think of mental toughness and competitive fire, they think of either Jimmy Connors or Rafael Nadal (pictured). It probably comes as no surprise that both of them make my list of the top five.

The only question is where, and whether anyone tops them. Read the rest of this entry →

Tennis players regularly have to deal with both the emotional high of winning and the emotional low of losing.

After a spectacular loss to Roger Federer in the 2007 Australian Open, Andy Roddick, said, “It was frustrating, it was miserable, it sucked, it was terrible…Besides that it was fine.”

Decades ago, for those of us in the US old enough to remember, ABC used to open a weekly sports show citing, in equal measure: the Joy of Victory…and the Agony of Defeat (using a horrible skiing accident to illustrate the latter).

The truth is that defeat, though agonizing, can often be the most inspiring illumination of character that comes out of a sporting contest.

This year, Roger Federer took two of the most spectacular losses a champion can accept, and also recorded two of the most spectacular wins a champion could ever make in meeting, then breaking, the all-time Slam record formerly held by Pete Sampras.

But this is an article about that state of grace that can sometimes be entered by a sporting champion in defeat.

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Kim Clijsters has made a surprising run to the U.S. Open Finals.

Start spreading the news.  For the second year in a row the script for the finals at the U.S. Open in Flushing Meadows, New York has to be re-written.  Oh, for the money to put a roof over our heads…it would seem reasonable insurance against pesky and obstinate mother nature.

Think of all the confusion and lost revenue caused by this year’s two-day rain delay.  It must drive the tournament organizers to abstraction.

Regardless – Sunday in New York promises to present some eye-popping, riveting men’s semifinal contests with number one Roger Federer vs. number four Novak Djokovic in one and Rafael, soon to be number 2 again, Nadal vs. number 5 Juan Martin del Potro in the other.

Add to that the final between surprising finalist Kim Clijsters and number nine seed Caroline Wozniacki and you have a smorgasbord of potential tennis classics ready for the big stage.
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Kim Clijsters

(10) Kim Clijsters

The Belgian blonde is making a comeback after a brief stint at stay-at-home motherhood.  Impatience is often the calling card for some young women when the drive to “settle down, get married and raise a family” supplants reason.

Let’s face it – women generally have fewer years than men to make their mark in athletics.  They peak younger and age faster than their male counterparts, on average.    This explains why on May 6, 2007, at age 23, after several bouts with injuries, Clijsters announced her official retirement from tennis.

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