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Nadal soars to Cloud Nine
Sunday, June 8, 2014
By Kate Battersby
Have you heard? Rafael Nadal is not as dominant on clay as he once was, apparently. He may not win Roland Garros again, so it is said. Exactly which year this speculation might refer to is unclear, because it certainly does not apply to 2014. Barring the great Spaniard’s retirement from the game, there will come a time when he plays here and does not raise the Coupe des Mousquetaires skywards, but such an idea is part of some strange and fanciful future beyond imagination.
On the final day of Roland Garros 2014, Nadal faced Novak Djokovic, perhaps the only man who could have challenged him for the crown the Majorcan prizes above all others – but what transpired merely reinforced the Rafa legend. For a short while the world trembled on its axis when he surrendered the first set, but Nadal simply adjusted his focus to win in four: 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 in three hours and 31 minutes. His ninth title at Roland Garros is, of course, astonishing, not least because – with the greatest respect to Djokovic – the most significant story this fortnight would either be Rafa Wins Nine or Rafa Loses. The achievements of other names would be secondary, even those of a player for whom victory would mean the completion of his career Grand Slam.
For a time at the start of the match, the unthinkable seemed possible, even though the hot conditions would favour 28-year-old Nadal. That intensity of focus which Djokovic has displayed throughout this tournament was in place once again, and when the Spaniard’s service first came under threat in the middle of the set the crowd on Philippe Chatrier Court bayed as if on championship point. They wanted an epic, a thriller, and roared louder still when Djokovic clouted a forehand down the line for his third break point. Nadal sent the ball wide and it was 3-5. For his first set point, the Serb produced a spectacular wrong-footer which left Nadal all but face down in the dirt, and he sealed it with a supremely controlled rally.
Djokovic, it should be noted, has never lost a final where he has won the first set. On the other hand, the prevailing wisdom has it that if Nadal wins more than 50% of points on his second service against Djokovic, he wins the set – and in the set he had just lost, the relevant figure stood at 57%. Take your pick. It still felt like the next set was essential for Djokovic, and somehow merely optional for Nadal.
At 2-3 in the second, Djokovic found himself break point down for the second time, whereupon Nadal ran around his backhand to convert it. Djokovic levelled, but with Nadal at 6-5 on service, the mood was all of crushing heat and a long road yet to be travelled for the Serb. So it proved. Djokovic sent a forehand way wide for set point, and Nadal put the ball beyond his reach. The extravagance of the Spaniard’s celebration clubbed home the significance.
Already an air of deflation hung around the court. The atmosphere sagged further when Nadal concluded a 22-stroke rally with a smash to bring up break point, whereupon Djokovic dunked a disastrous backhand volley in the net. The Serb slumped in his chair at the changeover as if ill. He forced a break point of his own at 1-3 but could do nothing with it, and by 2-4 his frustration boiled over as he dropped his racquet to the clay. This was a game which would last 11 minutes, as Djokovic fought fruitlessly on and on, only to fluff a backhand into the net. With the set all but gone he stayed rooted to the spot, staring sightlessly at his entourage in the stands, and having wandered back to his chair, the thousand-yard stare returned. On Nadal’s first set point, Djokovic sent the ball sailing beyond the baseline.
If the No.2 seed looked spent then, it looked all over in the fourth when Nadal broke for 4-2. Yet astonishingly Djokovic came back, when loose play from the Spaniard offered two break points. Nadal retrieved one with a big service, but on the second Djokovic’s return was too much. Hope sprang. But it was not to be trusted. At 4-5 the Serb once again sent the ball long, only this time it created championship point. He composed himself before serving… and delivered a double fault.
Victory is cruel, and victory is glorious. The champion supreme sank to his knees on the baseline. Today more than any other, he is on Cloud Nine.
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eat your heart out, haterz!  |
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nangissss!!
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Mulan posted on 9-6-2014 08:58 AM 
YAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Harapan kita termakbul Dah takdir Rafa menang RG#9, GS#14... {: ...
yesss dan masih mampu menang RG 2014 @ overall ke9 walaupun tahun ni boleh diibaratkan sebagai tahun paling teruk dia bermain atas clay. 
anyway, good job Rafa..GS #14 !!!
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Tapi kan..overall rasanya, women's final lagi best kot drp men's final..here's a fun fact that you should know:Maria hit more winners in 3 sets than both Nadal and Djokovic, and had a higher second serve average speed!
Winners
Maria: 46
Nadal: 44
Djokovic: 43
2nd serve average speed:
Maria: 147km/h
Nadal: 136km/h
Djokovic: 145km/h
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Mulan posted on 9-6-2014 09:20 AM 
nangissss!!
kuat nangis nadal nie
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yeay!!! RG kali ni my fav menang sama mcm thn 2012 Rafa & Masha..
walhal x expect pun dua2 menang.. sbb Rafa mmg agak teruk season clay kali ni..
Masha pulak.. tgk2 draw jmpa Serena di QF...
tgk Masha main 3 sets start dari lwn Stosur, Muguruza, Bouchard & Halep... mmg WTA finals kali ni entertaining...
tp yeah.. fight till the end...!!!
Last edited by Yen_Aireena on 9-6-2014 12:34 PM
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ni lepas SF Rafa d. AndyM
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mmg x sangka Masha blh menang another GS.. sape sangka kan twice GS di clay court.. surface yg mmg sukar bg Masha...
lps tu ditambah lg double fault yg adooiii mmg tinggi la...
suka WTA RG kali ni, byk rising stars - Bouchard, Muguruza, Halep
Halep ni tgk dia main tenang je.. big potential WTA.. dh naik ranking 3 |
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Yen_Aireena posted on 9-6-2014 12:23 PM
yeay!!! RG kali ni my fav menang sama mcm thn 2012 Rafa & Masha..
walhal x expect pun dua2 menang ...
Satu lagi persamaan RG2014 dgn RG2012 ni, Djokovic kalah dgn DOUBLE FAULT (championship point). Tak tahan pressure dia ni.
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I have a confession to make. And I am ashamed to admit it.
But I had doubts.
I didn't believe in Rafa before this Roland Garros started. I thought Djokovic was too strong. He's without a doubt the toughest player Rafa has ever played, after all. The only one who could really measure up against Nadal. Who wasn't afraid. Who knew how to play him. Who knew how to BEAT him.
But there are no excuses. Rafael Nadal has through his whole career proven doubters as myself wrong. People have written him off more times than any other player in history.
"He'll never recover from this injury."
"He'll never win slams outside clay."
"He'll never come close of Federer."
"He's done. It's over. You don't recover from 7 months absence."
"No way Nadal is going to win slams at 25, are you kidding me? His playing style is too tough on the body. He might even have retired at 25."
"No way Nadal will beat Djokovic again, are you blind? He doesn't stand a chance."
And on it goes...
But this guy is more than a tennis player. He's a phenomenon. In every sense of the word. One of the best athletes of all time. And probably THE best when it comes to the spirit of a champion; to never give up; to fight to the bitter end. To accept success and defeat with equal amount of humbleness.
He's constantly mocked, ridiculed, laughed at, hated and abused by haters on the internet, people who find pleasure in seeing him down, for various reasons, but the difference between them and Nadal is that they have no idea what it takes to be a champion; they have no idea what it takes to even show up, to give yourself a chance in life - regardless of result. It's easy to be tough and judgmental behind a computer screen, isn't it?
It doesn't matter if Nadal wins more slams. Or if he holds his ranking. It doesn't matter if Nadal ends his career at 30 or 35. It doesn't matter how much hatred he gets, if anything - it just shows people's true colors, cheering for others misery - can you get much lower than that? Nadal has nothing more to prove. He's won grand slams for 10 straight years now and above all, he's had the chance to live out his dream, and that was the only thing he ever asked for.
If anything, the success of Rafael Nadal proves that you can accomplish almost anything in life if you're willing to SUFFER for it. If you're willing to WORK for it. If you're willing to put your soul into what you do, every single day, and if you do that enough times - you'll be successful.
This is not the day to talk about records, or speculations about the future. I certainly have my thoughts on how far I believe Nadal will go in terms of grand slam wins, but it doesn't matter what we THINK - the only thing that matters is what we DO.
And Rafael Nadal has proven once again that you should NEVER write him off. He could be 90 years old in a wheelchair, but man - I'd STILL not count him out. I've learned my lesson. And I apologize.
Sincerely,
A very emotional fan.
(Chrillz Gutschmeister on ATP worldtour site)
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Post time 9-6-2014 08:58 AM
Dah takdir Rafa menang RG#9, GS#14... 
