FanNation - The Republic of Sport

S. L. Price said 05/24, 05:35 PM
"Mad props?" The guy deserves a medal. The men's tour has grappled with two weirdly contradictory themes over the past couple years: Federer's inevitability and Nadal's dominance over him, and for things to remain locked up that way would've been deadly for the game. Federer's win in Hamburg tossed all the chips into air as we head onto Roland Garros. Nothing seems predictable, suddenly, and that's all to the good. I'm putting my money on the Fed, though, because it makes absolutely no sense for him to win the French Open now. His spring has been filled with losses, he's adjusting to a new racket, he just fired his, er, coach, Tony Roche: The man's a mess, right? And then, right smack in the midst of all that, he waxes Nadal in Hamburg in a way we've never seen the Spaniard go down. That tells me plenty. Roger has been a bit bored by all that winning the last few years, and all these mini-crises have snapped him awake. It's a dangerous thing to have the world's most talented player feel he's an underdog, that he has no choice but to fight, that he has something to prove. But that's what we have now.

S. L. Price said 05/31, 08:54 AM
Actually, no, it doesn't describe Nadal. He's not the underdog here, and at Roland Garros he has nothing to prove. Everyone knows he's the king of clay, and now that you mention it, his exhaustion over the past month is yet another reason why Federer is my bet here. And let's not underrate the transformative power of one match. Andre Agassi won in Paris in 1999, and that, in essence, rejiggered the conversation on his entire career. Nadal nearly beat Federer on a hardcourt in Miami in 2005 and it convinced him, and everyone else, that he could battle the man on any surface. As for amnesia, I haven't forgotten that he's the player to beat in Paris. I just happen to know a player who can beat him.

S. L. Price said 05/31, 10:35 AM
Wow, Novak. You really know how to hurt a guy. Personally, I thought the devolution was leading more into Airplane! territory ("Shana, they paid for their tickets; I say let them crash!") Look, I'm right there with you; the odd thing about this Throwdown is that it revolves around two guys who have managed to keep their rivalry free of in-your-face, "Quien es mas macho?" posturing. Their mutual respect is palpable, almost to the extent that it leaves fans confused. When these guys play, they force us to focus on the tennis, not the far easier quirks of personality or clothing. This makes for great technical drama, but it hasn't quite gotten personal yet; save for Fed's one-time complaint about Rafa's coaching, there's no hint of animus in the air. The greatest rivalries, like Sampras-Agassi, have that extra spice.

But maybe that changes here. Federer knows the clock is ticking, and he'll be full of confidence after that 6-0 third in Hamburg. He'll do what he's supposed to do at last: Tuck away his hair (believe me, it's just as much an issue with him as it is with Nadal), serve out the match, and send Senor Wedgie packing.