Sports Then and Now

Roger and Rafa 2005 French Open

Great rivals should challenge each other equally. Shouldn’t they? Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal? Are they true rivals?

Nadal dominates, practically speaking, with a 16-8 record against Federer and an 11-2 superiority on the clay.  Off clay courts, Federer holds a slight edge.

Regardless of your feelings and your loyalties, most will agree that never in the history of the game has there been a more compelling rivalry as the one between Federer and Nadal.

We are witnessing, perhaps, the two greatest men ever to play the game of tennis. These tennis phenoms continue to exert pressure on a very talented men’s field as Federer nears age 30 with Rafa just turning 25.

Currently, the World No. 1 is hanging on to the brass ring for dear life, fighting off the newly inspired Djokovic for the top spot in men’s tennis.

Federer, on the other hand, is playing some of his most inspired tennis since losing in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic.

In the past, playing practically perfect tennis against Roger Federer evolved into an art form for Rafael Nadal. Nothing inspired him more or engaged his senses more completely than striving to match his considerable strengths against the man many proclaim as the best player ever to wield a tennis racket.

The quixotic mission to overtake Federer that had driven Nadal throughout his career must reemerge during Sunday’s final for Nadal to win French Open number six.

It will mark Federer’s fifth French Open final and Nadal’s sixth.  Federer has won one championship trophy and Nadal has five.

They have met each other on the grounds of Stade Roland Garros four times prior to Sunday’s final.

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Serb Novak Djokovic

Ever since early April, the clay war has been raging on in the world of tennis.

From Casablanca to Belgrade, from Monte-Carlo to Rome, tennis warriors have been fighting it out on the red dirt for glory and pride.

As for the past few years, it was predicted that the “king of clay,” Rafael Nadal, would once again rule the kingdom of clay.

Only this year, no one saw it coming. A “perfect storm”—named Novak Djokovic.

Besides the French Open—the ultimate prize of the clay season—there are four other significant tournaments in the calendar: the three Masters events in Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome, and the only 500 event in Barcelona. Nadal made it to the final in all four events, winning two titles against David Ferrer—but finishing runner-up to Djokovic in the others.

So this year, Djokovic has beaten Nadal four times, all in the finals of Masters events: two on hard-court and two on clay. Will the trend continue if they both make it to the final at Roland Garros?

And what is in store at Roland Garros for Roger Federer, who is yet to overcome Na-No this year? Will Robin Soderling finally be able to come out on top after finishing second-best in the past two French Open finals? Will the Fedal duopoly finally be broken by the Djoker?

Before we take a look at who is hot and who is not heading to Paris, here are a few players who made our top ten list last time but were dropped this time.

Dropping Out

Mardy Fish (Last Power Ranking: 4; ATP Ranking: 10)

Mardy Fish was in great form at Miami, advancing all the way to the semifinals before losing to the unbeatable Djokovic. Not long after that, he was able to crack the ATP top ten for the first time in his career. Unfortunately for Fish, actually for all American players, the clay season started right after Miami. Not surprisingly, he enjoyed little success on the red dirt. Though without many points to defend, he was able to retain his No. 10 ranking heading to the French capital.

Juan Martin Del Potro (Last Power Ranking: 5; ATP Ranking: 27)

Del Potro had an impressive season so far, especially considering that he was out of action for much of last season. The tall Argentine has already won two titles this year, including one clay title in Estoril. Unfortunately, he suffered a hip injury before his much anticipated clash with Nadal in Madrid and he subsequently pulled out of Rome as well. His performance at Roland Garros will largely depend on his health and fitness.

Gilles Simon (Last Power Ranking: 8; ATP Ranking: 19)

Gilles Simon had some success on hard-courts this season, winning the Sydney title and making to the quarterfinals at Miami. But he has been struggling on clay so far, winning six matches from five tournaments. This could be partly due to the fact that he missed the entire clay swing last season due to injuries. It is hard to see him have much success at the French Open this year.

Our power rankings try to measure the form of top players based on their recent results. This season-long series contains contribution from JA Allen, Marianne Bevis and Feng Rong (Ronger Fengerer).

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Bjorn Borg won the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year three times.

Winning both the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year is perhaps the greatest double in tennis. The huge differences between clay and grass means the players who achieve this feat can be considered as the greatest amongst multiple slam winners; in fact it can used as the yardstick for measuring greatness in tennis, the hardest thing to define across eras in any sport.

The proximity of the two tournaments in the tour schedule further elevates the difficulty level of winning them both. Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg (three times), Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (twice) are the only men to have done this dream double in the Open Era.

As harsh as it may seem, the struggles on clay of Pete Sampras, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and, in years gone by, of John Newcombe and Ken Rosewall, precludes them from joining the above names at the front of the hall of fame, just as Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander could never conquer grass. Those looking at the Wimbledon odds will know how tough it can be on Centre Court. Read the rest of this entry →

Over the last year the road has gotten a little tougher for former number one Roger Federer.

The question on many people’s lips this summer will be whether Roger Federer can get himself back amongst the Grand Slams, and add to his 16 titles so far. The Swiss Maestro hasn’t won a major tournament since the Australian Open at the beginning of last year, failing to reach a single final since that victory in Melbourne.

During his spell out of the spotlight, Federer has only been able to sit back and watch as Rafael Nadal has dominated the Grand Slams, with Novak Djokovic’s impeccable form making it hard to see how Federer will be able to break back into the top-two. While it is near impossible to see Federer stopping Nadal notching up his sixth French Open title next month, the Swiss star will once again fancy his chances of doing something at Wimbledon and lifting his seventh title, although the Wimbledon betting 2011 suggests he faces a tough challenge.

For Federer now though, he needs to start believing he can still mix it with the best and get back amongst the trophies, despite a poor run in the Grand Slams for the majority of last year and the beginning of this season. Thomas Berdych sprung a surprise at the quarter-final stage at Wimbledon last year to put Federer out and the former world number one will be looking to repay his loyal fans that turn up at the All England Club in such numbers each year.

A decent month on the clay-courts will give Federer that spark of confidence that he needs to get back onto winning form. Another disappointing year and Federer would face a mammoth task to get back amongst the younger top players.

French Open gets underway in less than a month.

Last season the 2010 French Open marked the culmination of a player sweeping the major titles of the entire clay court season––the final act of the Tao of Nadal.

No man has quite dominated the red dirt so completely since Bjorn Borg did in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

That said, no individual has yet to equal Chris Evert’s record on clay, man or woman by winning 125 consecutive matches on the red dirt, and seven French Open titles in nine final appearances.

Is it possible that Nadal could surpass even the ice maiden?

There are few mysteries abounding about the results on clay in 2011. If Nadal can hobble on to the court, then he will no doubt win, according to the odds-makers.

The only unknowns come on the women’s side of the draw where no one stands out as a favorite to win. In fact the bookies remain fairly clueless.

Past winners like Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova remain mired in unending slumps punctuated by an unexpected win or two along the way.

Francesca Schiavone who won it last year over the woman who was supposed to win, Samantha Stosur, may be the best bet.

The sure thing about watching the French Open is that it is not pretty. Play on the red dirt can be long and ugly on a hot afternoon with unending rallies from the baseline.  It often becomes truly survival of the fittest.

So, selecting who will be standing holding the trophies at the end of the French Open can be a futile exercise but here are the favorites and where they stand at the beginning of May…

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Roger Federer wins Wimbledon in 2009.

In over a century of judging the hits and misses of men’s professional tennis, tournament rules have come and gone. Styles of play rose and fell with the passage of time.

Technology has increased speed, spin and accuracy as rackets evolved and athletes became bigger, stronger and faster.

In light of constant evolution, it becomes difficult to compare players from one generation to the next because unlike baseball, tennis has never been a game noted for rote statistics.

That is not to say the stats were not there, but as a professional organization, no one thought to keep numbers comparing players in a consistent and forward-thinking manner. Sometimes even the most rudimentary facts about a match are missing.

Even today, there is no consensus about just what statistical measures are important in judging the overall careers of the top men in tennis.

The statistics that seem to matter most currently are: (1) the number of grand slam victories; (2) the number of weeks or total length of time holding the No. 1 ranking; (3) the number of year-end tour championship wins over the best eight men in the field, and (4) the number of Master’s Shields won. Many other statistics considered important by the ATP are detailed here

This ranking looks at players of the modern era, since 1968, although a great case can and should be made for male tennis stars who played before the Open Era.

Compare Federer’s numbers to the stats of others with him in the top 10, especially those who have won slams on all surfaces.

These 10 players in the modern era have set the bar for the rest following in this 21st century.

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