French Open 2021: What makes Rafael Nadal so formidable at Roland Garros?

Sport is all about the unknown, the unforeseen and the unpredictable. It’s about rivalries and a clash of personalities. That’s what makes sport and sporting battles so exciting. Think Ali vs Frazier, Karpov vs Kasparov, Nicklaus vs Palmer, Sampras vs Agassi, Djokovic vs Nadal vs Federer. Oh wait, it’s the French Open, so is there really anyone to rival Nadal? Is there anyone who can stop the juggernaut of Rafael Nadal on clay, and more importantly, at the French Open? With 10 titles at Rome, 11 at Monte Carlo and 13 at the French Open including an embarrassingly one-sided drubbing of Novak Djokovic in last year’s final, I can confidently say that no other major sporting event in any sport has had the kind of domination from one single athlete or player the way Nadal has dominated the French Open. What then makes Nadal so special in Paris? Whilst Djokovic has dominated at the Australian Open and Roger Federer can stake claim to being the best at Wimbledon, I believe their records are nowhere close to Nadal’s at the French Open simply because the French Open is the toughest Slam to win . Like all great champions who have endured and survived, Nadal’s continued success has been the result of progressing with change, taking the hard decisions when it mattered, and his legendary and incredible work ethic towards his craft. However, it’s his humility, humbleness and respect towards his opponents, his colleagues, his fans and the world at large that has also been a major contributor to his continued and prolonged success. In the early years, Nadal relied on his sheer physicality, brute force and his aggressive body language to first mentally demoralise his opponents off the court and then pummel them into submission on the court. Even today, his ability to hit winners from the back of the court (sometimes from 15 feet behind the baseline) and from seemingly impossible situations is extraordinary. And he does this against the likes of Djokovic, Federer, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and some of the younger and fitter players on the tour. At 54 revolutions per second, his forehand was and is still probably the heaviest in terms of ‘topspin’ generated of any player that has stepped onto a tennis court. The clay courts add even more bounce to his forehand making it extremely tough for any player to wrest the initiative from him. Unlike many athletes, he has not been afraid to change or to make changes. The biggest decision and one that must have been heart wrenching was to ask his uncle and coach Toni Nadal to step down as travelling coach and get Carlos Moya, a former World No 1 on board. ‘Uncle Toni’ has been a constant fixture since Nadal started playing the game in Mallorca, preparing him as a young child for the rigours of the tour. He structured creative practice sessions, gave him no special importance and attached huge emphasis on hard work and perseverance which has stood Nadal in good stead over the years and is surely the single biggest contributor to his success. Moya’s addition has certainly given Nadal’s career a ‘second wind’ and he has brought about some crucial changes to Nadal’s game by adding a repertoire of shots and a few new strategies that seem to be working especially against the younger players who are now snapping at the heels of the big three. A crucial change Nadal has made is to his serve. After a couple of back injuries that almost ended his career, Nadal was forced to adapt and change his service action and motion to rely more on variety and spin rather than brute power. This has resulted in his serve getting more depth, disguise and spin while putting less strain on his back. Players like Nadal would typically play anywhere between 20 to 25 tournaments in the year and its very tough to make technical changes during tournaments, midway through one’s career and especially when one has multiple Grand Slam titles to his name. It’s to Nadal’s credit and his unwavering belief that he had the guts, gumption and confidence to make the changes that were required to put him in a better position to win a few more Slams. On clay, it’s also a huge mental game. Before you step on the court, you know you have to be prepared for long rallies, rain delays and generally uncomfortable conditions. Now imagine players having to face Nadal on the other side of the court. Even with his demure off-court persona, Nadal wins more than 90 percent of his matches on clay before even stepping on the court. It usually starts with his ‘warm-up’ routine just before the players enter the court. Anyone who sees that up close surely knows they are stepping into the lion’s lair with very little chance of coming out on top. Add to it, the fact that it’s a 3-out-of-5-sets match and they know they need to be prepared to stay out there forever to carve out a win. His on-court personality is what the Mumbai cricketers would describe as ‘khadoos’. His off-court persona is completely the opposite. Having spent a few hours with him on a couple of occasions, I have witnessed this first-hand. In Delhi a few years back, he was stopped at the tennis stadium gate by an official who failed to recognise him! He waited at the gate until I fetched him, then had an intense two-hour practice session, followed by an hour-long clinic for kids and then signed at least 500 autographs and posed for another 100 photographs for the fans who were waiting patiently. This is not normal for a superstar of his stature, and it comes across in his work ethic and in his conversations with other players, officials and the media as well. [caption id=“attachment_9665371” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Rafael Nadal poses with the writer in New Delhi a few years back on the sidelines of a tennis clinic for kids. Image courtesy: Gaurav Natekar[/caption] Someone is going to have to play the ‘match of his life’ to beat Nadal. The ‘bottom line’ is this: the French Open is Rafael Nadal’s to lose.