How dominant is Rafael Nadal on the clay courts of the French Open? In winning his record-tying sixth championship at Roland Garros, Nadal was challenged more than he had been in any of his previous finals at the event, yet still defeated all-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in four sets, 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1, the final one capping a commanding performance by the world No. 1.
The win ties Nadal with Bjorn Borg for the most ever wins at the French Open and gives him 10 overall, just six behind Federer. Having just turned 25 years old, Nadal could make a run at Federer’s record 16. Of course, that total of 16 could go higher in the coming years. Federer showed in Paris that he’s not done yet, even as he approaches his 30th birthday.
Nadal was beatable on Sunday, which isn’t something you could have said about a vast majority of his 46 previous matches on the red clay of Paris. His defense was as brilliant as ever but his groundstrokes were inconsistent and he played tentatively at times, hitting the ball short and allowing Federer to work the angles for winners.
For the first 40 minutes, Federer was up to the task. He burst to a 5-2 lead before Nadal got settled and rattled off seven straight games. For the first few games, Federer played flawless tennis. Then the drop shots started his the bottom of the tape instead of the top. The backhands that were hitting the line started pushing a few inches past. When he lost the opening set, most expected Nadal to run away with the rest of the match.
He almost did, winning the second and going up a break in the third. Federer stormed back with two breaks to force a fourth set. When Nadal faced a 0-40 deficit in the opening game of that set, visions of the classic 2008 Wimbledon final, when Federer came back from two sets down to play a fifth set, were dancing in the heads of tennis fans. Nadal put an end to that quickly. He won five straight points en route to a 6-1 victory in the final set.
With his sixth title, Rafael Nadal’s name is side by side with the great Borg, who also won his sixth French Open title immediately after his 25th birthday. Later that year, the Swede abruptly left the sport later. He never won another Slam.
Rafael Nadal has no plans to go out like that. Wimbledon starts in 15 days. Guess who’s the favorite.
Li Na became the first Chinese player to ever win a major on Saturday, defeating defending championFrancesca Schiavone, 6-4, 7-6, in the finals of the French Open. The victory should help ignite a tennis revolution in the country of 1.3 billion and could prove to be a critical boon for a sport badly in need of new markets and sponsors.
The 29-year-old from China dominated the first hour of play before Schiavone, looking to defend her 2010 French Open title, found her legs, earned a set-tying break and reversed the momentum of the match. At 6-5 in the second set it looked like Schiavone would have a set point on Li’s serve. An overrule of a line call by the chair gave Li the advantage and, eventually, the game. She went on to sweep the tiebreak.
When Schiavone’s final shot went long, Li Na fell to the clay with her arms extended and looked up at her player’s box, where her husband, whom she fired as coach earlier this year, applauded. The win came just before midnight in Shanghai. It’s expected that as many as 50 million households in China watched the match, the same number that watches NFL conference championship games in the United States.
In her second Grand Slam final of the year, Li Na was more composed and cognizant of the moment. During her first appearance in Melbourne, the world No. 6 was flustered, even when winning the first set against Kim Clijsters. She complained to the chair umpire about loud fans and shot her husband frustrated glances throughout the match. On Saturday, she was the picture of calm. When Schiavone made a late bid to push the match to three sets, Li didn’t panic.
Na struck 34 winners (including 3 aces) with 24 unforced errors (including 1 double fault) while scoring on 2 of the 8 break points she reached against Francesca and totaling 73 points in the match. Francesca hit only 12 winners (no aces) with 16 errors (no DFs) while converting 1 of the 2 break points she reached against Na and totaling 65 points in the match. Both players made 12 trips to the net: Na scored on 10 of her approaches; Francesca on 6.
Whether the win ushers in a revolution of Chinese players in women’s tennis is an answer we won’t know for years. If past history means anything, it probably won’t. Yao Ming was supposed to do the same for basketball but almost a decade later there’s only a handful of Chinese players in the league. It was expected that the dominance of Serena and Venus Williams would open up tennis to America’s inner-cities. There’s been no discernible effect on the professional game.
What it will do is something far more important to women’s tennis. Li’s win brings the game to a country with 1.3 billion people and an appetite for western sports. Because of Yao, China is the NBA’s biggest market. Tennis may follow suit due to Li Na, Grand Slam champion.
Na said: ”Today is the dream come true. Not so many players can win a Grand Slam… I was nervous, but I didn’t want to show to my opponent. I was a little bit shaking…Francesca is a clay court player—she hits topspin and slice so well—so I just tried to play my tennis and keep her running. She’s a top player so you never know what will happen and when she will come back in the match, but when we went into the tie-break I told myself it was my chance to do it.”
