The King of Clay’s throne is abdicated no more.
And nobody even came close from preventing his latest ascension.
Rafael Nadal completed a perfect run to this 10th French Open title and first since 2014 when he won his seventh straight-set match of the fortnight, erasing Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 on Sunday afternoon. Nadal triumphed after only two hours and fives minutes of play.
This one–like the former world No. 1’s six matches before it throughout the fortnight–was never competitive.
Wawrinka held his first two service games but lost four games in a row starting at 2-2 to end the set in unceremonious fashion. Nadal stormed to a 3-0 lead in the second and easily consolidated the break, without even being pushed to deuce on serve at any point during the middle frame. From there it was all over for Wawrinka, who donated his serve once again to begin the third and was also broken on two more occasions thereafter.
“For sure I was nervous this morning about the match, about the final, about playing against him,” the third-ranked Swiss admitted. “But when I enter the court, I enjoy it and I appreciate [being] in the final of a Grand Slam here [at the] French Open. That’s always something special, and you need to see that also from the big picture.
“For sure this score wasn’t good, the match wasn’t good, but at the end of the day there’s a lot of positives to take from the last few weeks.”
Wawrinka had been in the midst of a 10-match winning streak before he ran into Nadal. He was coming off a title in Geneva, won his first five matches at Roland Garros all in straight sets, and toppled top-seeded Andy Murray in a five-set semifinal.
But Wawrinka was no match for Nadal, who more than doubled his unforced errors(12) with winners (27), faced just one break point, and never got broken.
“I know Wawrinka is a very dangerous opponent, so my mentality was there all the time thinking that I cannot give him the chance to be back in the match,” Nadal explained. “Because then he starts to hit so strong from the baseline and he’s able to produce amazing shots.
“The only thing that I know is I am playing well now. I am happy. I am enjoying every week and I want to continue and I’m gonna try to keep working hard to try to enjoy more beautiful weeks.”
The 31-year-old has enjoyed plenty of them at the French Open, but never has Nadal been more dominant than he was this time. He lost a grand total of 35 games throughout the event, the second fewest by any man at any major in the best-of-five-set Open Era (since 1968).
The most remarkable fact is that Rafa was doing all the hitting and Stan was doing all the running. Just shows how much his game has evolved
If Fed does well in the warm up events and I expect him to and if Rafa doesn’t do well, Fed maybe the #2 seed going into Wimbly and that would make the rigging team’s job a lot easier.
Cool! Just found a live “Race to Wimbledon” current seeding!
http://www.openerarankings.com/Home?Race=3
Looks like Andy has a lock on No. 1 seed (nothing new) but Rafa and Nole are in a tight race for the 2-3 seed.
WLB and Fed in a tight race for the 4-5 spot.
So Fed hasn’t even secured a Top 4 seed yet (but no doubt he will with only his personal assistant in his way).
On tennis-x they have arrived at a possible 7800 or so for Fed which would make him #2 unless Rafa and Nole do well at warm ups. Apparently the warm up points count twice in the formula. Does Nole even do grass warm ups?
Nole hasn’t played a grass warm-up since 2010 so doubtful IMO but you never know with the extra week.
Yeah, looks like Fed can get to about 7800 seeding points if he wins this week and in Halle. So Rafa would need to make the final in Queens to make sure he keeps the No. 2 seed regardless of what Federer does.
I not only believe that Rafa can make the final at Queen’s this year, I think he can win it!
Yeah, Rafa definitely has the potential so yes he can but there is a large margin of uncertainty given the last five years.
To say Rafa can’t do ANYTHING would be ridiculous just like Becker and Borg betting he’d never win another slam right after he’d just won his 14th…
@KYevgeni 11:01 PM – 12 Jun 2014
Latest gossip. Boris Becker and Bjorn Borg betted Mansour Bahrami,that Rafa Nadal will win NO more grand slam! Wager unknown.
I think Rafa will make the quarters in Queens. But you never know, with the extra week, Rafa may want to make it tough for the rigging team by trying to win Queens and be a lock for #2.
Stan was hitting near full power in the first few games and he hit a few balls by Rafa. But a lot came back, sometimes with interest. After that, Stan quit going for his shots, his power declined to around 70%, and he tried to rally with Rafa. That’s when he was lost. Nadal ended up with more winners (can’t remember the total), which is something I never would have expected but a sign that Stan wasn’t playing the game he wanted/needed to.
As Wawa said afterwards, mentally he wasn’t 100%, and Rafa had a lot to do with that; that’s what playing top-form Nadal on clay will do to you.
so now you can discard the Joe conjecture which was repeatedly proved wrong and exposed you to well merited derision!
#RafaIsTheGOAT
What exactly was the Joe conjecture again?
Besides a figment of your imagination, that is?
ooh, the creator of the Joe conjecture disclaims all knowledge of it? The Joe conjecture was that anyone who had beaten Rafa even once is better than Rafa and will beat him at RG.
Ok, now the test:
Find one post where I said anything like that.
When you fail, I’ll remind you of what I actually said.
That is the gist of your various posts where you held out Thiem and Stan as deadly for Rafa at RG simply because they had beaten him in the past.
Nope, not the gist. Here’s a few things I actually said, starting with the ones I got right:
1. If Stan plays like he did in SF, Rafa will win easily. (Stan actually played worse, apart from the 5th set in the SF).
2. If Stan tries to rally with Rafa (instead of going for winners) he is lost.
3. Stan’s very best tennis (e.g. 2015 God mode) is good enough to beat Rafa. (I’m less confident after yesterday’s Rafa performance, but still not ready to abandon it. I only wish we could have seen it as a 5 set classic, even if it would have given several people on this site a heart attack.)
4. Before the match I said it was slightly more likely than not that Stan will bring his very best (I put it at 55% -NOT 75%). I also said explicitly that this was based not so much on recent form (I was worried after the SF against Murray), but on his performance in past slam finals.
Obviously, Stan didn’t bring his best. Was I wrong? Well, kind of, but it’s hardly like I guaranteed he would.
Regarding Thiem, of whom I also said the match was on his racquet (in my sense of that phrase, which does *not* mean favoured), I made no prediction at all. The difference between Thiem and Stan bringing his best, in my opinion, was that Stan had proved that he can in a big slam match, whereas Thiem hadn’t.
Just a lot of words. You also propounded the Joe Main fallacy. This time I am not telling you what it is. But remember apart from producing biased stats, you and Main were pretty sure Stan could overpower Rafa.
Just a lot of words -that I actually said!
I have no idea what the fallacy is that you’re talking about.
The fallacy ( Joe MainATP) which deserves to be immortalized by the proponents of its logic:
If a player A reaches just 1 final in his career and wins it (100%), and another player B reaches 10 finals in his career and wins 9 (90%), then player A will beat Player B if they meet in a final.
I can’t speak for Nain ATP, but that’s not my fallacy. First, Stan had been in 3 slam finals, not one. And he’d beaten 2 of the big 3 (Nole, Rafa) in each one. To me, that says a lot.
Even still, I never would think Stan could beat Rafa in a RG final if he didn’t possess the big hitting game that he does.
Again, nothing in what I actually said to support your attribution.
I don’t think Stan wins any of those meetings had Nole or Rafa been at the top of their game.
Rafa injured his back before the match and Nole was way too passive. Becker was beside himself. The best match Wawrinka won was against Nole at AO when there was nothing to tell between them until Nole simply choked a few points late in the fifth.
I do believe however that he took Roger out at Rogers best level at the French.
Well my guess is even if Stan was at 100% mentally and physically, Rafa won’t allow him to play his game, and that’s what Rafa is best at doing. A Rafa playing with such aggression is very hard to beat. Judging from their H2H, I know Rafa has had much successes in containing Stan’s power.
I have always maintained that an aggressive Rafa is > an aggressive Djoko or an aggressive Fed; because Rafa combines lethal offense with unbelievable defense which is a deadly formula against anyone. The thing is, Rafa needs to be confident in order to play this way. We’ve seen that in 2008, 2010 and 2013. In each of those years, Rafa could swept through the field once he gathered enough momentum, from clay right up to the US HCs (even though he’s more deadly on clay than on HCs). Rafa may or may not continue like this in 2017, who knows. We’ll wait and see…
There’s every reason to think that Rafa will be a force on HC, since he was already 2nd to Roger earlier in the year when he clearly wasn’t playing as well as now. I hope and expect that we’ll see some great HC clashes between them later this year.
I’m not expecting much from Rafa on grass, though, where he just seems to be a different player altogether the last few years. I don’t think his knees can take it, even if the rest of his game and fitness is back to near its best.
After 2012, I haven’t been expecting anything from Rafa on grass but obviously both UT and Rafa think there is a chance this time. So waiting eagerly for Queens. I want to make it clear though that what Rafa did at RG is enough to keep me happy for a long time. Anything more is icing on the cake!
Mary (AT 2:30 AM),
That’s what Rafa said on Sunday:
“Since I have had problems with my knee, since 2012, playing on grass has been very complicated for me.
“We’ll see how my knee behaves. Playing on grass is very special. You need to play at a lower level. The body posture is down. You have less stability.
“But keep in mind I played five finals in Wimbledon. I like playing on grass. On grass, anything can happen. I’m motivated.”
http://in.reuters.com/article/tennis-frenchopen-nadal-idINKBN19318M
Stan already admitted that Rafa didn’t allow him to play his game and dictate (aka god-mode) and that’s good enough for me.
Tsame for Thiem. Nole let him. Rafa didn’t.
#BetweenTheEars
Fed must have been practising like mad on grass so he will hit the ground running. But Rafa will have to make the transition slowly in order not to injure himself. Anyway, whatever will be, will be. In any case with his current form, Rafa may sweep Canada, Cincinnati and the US Open. Staying injury free is most important.
Depends on Fed’s level too. Lets not forget he beat rafa thrice in hard courts already.
True but Rafa’s forehand, serve and backhand have improved since then. Especially his forehand. Fed also may have improved everything but while we know Rafa has improved, we do not know that Fed has improved. So based on current information available in the public domain: Advantage: Rafa.
Ive never won any popularity contests on these type of forums, so i dont even bother to try, ive been called a Novak hater by his fans, and a secret Novak fan by Rafa fans (go figure) you cant win, anyhow i digress i would dearly love Rafa to win more GS away from clay ,W,AO,USO, and i dont wish for Federer to win SW19, but if he does he does no problem, its Rafa i want to win hes my favorite ….
Alison,
I don’t think the goal is to win a popularity contest or go along to get along. People should be able to say what they think. Sometimes fans can get discouraged, too. It hurts to see one’s favorite player suffering and struggling. It hurt my heart to see Rafa going through another injury and not being healthy and happy.
I just think it’s a shame that in this moment when Rafa fans are celebrating an extraordinary victory, that anyone feels the need to bring up criticism of Rafa by his fans in the past. We speak from our hearts and much of it was out of pain and frustration at seeing Rafa in that state.
For myself, I don’t hold anything Andi st any of the long suffering Rafa fans here. I was critical and despairing that Rafa would continue suffering. But my love and support for him was always there.
We should let go of the past and realize that words said in times of sadness and discouragement, were not meant to be disrespectful to Rafa.
I think the Rafa fans here are all great and have been behind Rafa in their own way.
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I meant to say that I don’t hold anything against any of the long suffering Rafa fans here! *
I still haven’t been able to fully grasp the magnitude of Rafa’s achievement. Hope he does make it a dirty dozen even if it greatly skews his slam count toward clay. Rafa is great on all surfaces. While there maybe debates about GOAT in general nobody dares dispute that Rafa is the clay GOAT. He wants to keep winning at RG so I will be happy if he does win 15 as Kuerten forecasts. Anyway that will make him surpass Fed. And the Fed fawns will argue till they are blue in the face that clay is not a legitimate surface. Ha ha.
#RafaIsTheGOAT
That hashtag is a matter of opinion. Lots of evidence would totally contradict Rafa being the GOAT. Just saying.
Other evidence would support it though. Just saying it’s a matter of opinion and in my opinion a very pointless debate to be had or title to give to a player. I would of course say Fed is the goat in my opinion for being this good at 35 but others say Rafa is for other reasons like H2H. Usually it seems that one would dub their favorite player the goat. So most on this site would probably say Rafa is the goat.
I do not think you will find anyone disputing that @Benny G, GOAT-hood is an opinion. Fact.
True that. And just curious ritb. How come ur username has 3.0 at the end of it? Just wondering lol
Happy to explain @Benny G, the 3.0 reflects my opinion of the number of times Rafa has reincarnated his tennis career. Rafa 1.0 was when he launched his professional career as a teenager, Rafa 2.0 was when he re-calibrated his serve to conquer hard courts and win his first USOPEN, Rafa 3.0 is the current more technically complete (to paraphrase Uncle Toni), clearly more efficient incarnation.
Sorry nny, I apologize. After 3 long years we finally have occasion to celebrate. We do not know how long this period is going to last. It is not the time to bring up past hurts. It is a time to forget our differences and celebrate Rafa’s great achievement. The Rafa whom all of us love dearly, even if we show it in different ways.
Well said nny and Mary.
Nny!…I have no idea what you’re talking about…i just wanna say,i love your post…Thumbs up for everything u said!…
https://www.colourbox.com/preview/3407138-smiley-thumb-up-heart.jpg
I was one of the (dreadful) fans that thought Nadal would never come back to the top, he’s proven me wrong, again, sofor me if he doesn’t win another slam again, I don’t care, he’s always going to be the best. I don’t need him to win anything else to convince myself of this. To overcome so many physical and mental obstacles and win this beloved RG again, and the way he’s done it, it’s just icing in his career.
But of course, I’d like him to continue fighting and giving himself the chances to win more trophies.
Shireling me too ….
Well said NNY ….
Big Congratulations to Rafa and all his fans… there are always the over-the-top types but I’m fine with them as long as they leave me alone 😀
I like Rafa, missed him during his off year (2015), never thought or said he was done and I’m happy for him to be healthy again – just hope he has more competitive challengers on grass and hc. He was was so far above everyone at FO 2017 it was a one man show. And I know that makes most of you happy, so cheers!
Urgh!!…Love your post as well rc!!
https://d2gg9evh47fn9z.cloudfront.net/thumb_COLOURBOX3407083.jpg
Hi RC and many thanks, i appreciate that, no over the top worship from me, i didnt care for it a year ago from the TX loonies, so i dont have double standards, im happy but not going OTT its only tennis 🙂
Hi Alison – yes, you knew what I was talking about. The tension and fighting between Nole fans and Nole fans on TX leading up to the FO was OTT.
It’s so nice to watch tennis on grass – I love the contrast going from clay to grass this time of year.
LOL this is a FIRST for the Jalep_Wildguess group 😀
http://www.tennisdrawchallenge.com/group/picks/68/atp/bracket/2017-s-hertogenbosch
Lol rc!!….Why everyone ‘copied’ my picks hah??Didn’t they have other names to toy with??Hehehehehawhawhawhawhaw!!
I Love tennis on grass RC , i cant wait for Queens and SW19 to start ….
Me too! Opps I should have posted that link on – Daily picks probably. I was getting ready to make picks for Nottingham, Stuttgart and s-Hertogenbosch.
It’s somewhat of a switch picking grass.
I am looking forward to the grass season, too. It’s such a big change from clay to grass. I look forward to Queens and also Wimbledon.
There will be other favorites now who will come to the forefront and show their stuff on grass.
Can you all imagine how amazing it will be if we happen to get 2 more Fedal slam finals this season?? I guess that even if we got just ONE more, it would be so great! Although I would truly love to see Fedal Wimbledon IV, I think that we all would love to finally get Fedal U.S. Open! I know that is pretty far down the road. I just PRAY that both of them go through the rest of the season un-injured. When the two of them are winning like this and staying healthy, everyone wins in my opinion…
Federer has made a statement in his presser that no way could he have beaten rafa at Roland garros and called Rafa gigantic. He also said it was a big goal for Rafa and he achieved it and that he had predicted it in Miami itself that rafa would destroy on clay. He also said it is not ideal for him at Wimby that Rafa comes with so much self confidence. He has also said that he felt bad for wawrinka in the final:-)
To be honest, Sanju, I thought that statement by Fed was a bit disingenuous. It might have been true, but it’s easy for Roger to say when he doesn’t enter the tournament.
On the contrary, I think if Rafa was injured, fed would have played the French.
I think he was being honest.
It’s nice to see you here guys bringing so much passion for tennis in writing. As usual I find myself reading comments and enjoy it. Some of them are really good. And I learn something new, since I started playing this sport only about a year ago when the opportunity arose.
I’m curious who’s playing tennis at any level here? And how’s like to play on grass?
Nny,Hawks and other Rafans…A great article for u guys….
http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2017/06/king-clay
With all due respect MA, I feel that was a veiled bait and switch piece written by a fedfan.
(The use of Mr. repeatedly was bizarre and is prevalent in the writer’s other opinion pieces. Reminded me of something you’d see on bleacher report.)
Sorry. Just my take.
Oh really Hawks?…Oh!Okay…Thanks for telling me that Hawks…
MA,
I read the article and just think that it was a bit top heavy on stats overall. The comparison of stats on different surfaces got a bit tedious. It seemed kind of dry and devoid of the kind of real appreciation for Rafa’s unique gifts that I have read in many other articles and blogs, many of which you have posted.
I can’t speak to any obvious bias because it’s do cluttered up with stats. I am not familiar with the person who wrote this. The use of the formal “Mister” also seemed kind of odd.
The vast majority of articles you have posted have been great reads. There are always going to be a few that fall short.
You do a great job with these links! This one was pretty forgettable and there was another one I remember that was filled with inaccuracies. But not a big deal!
Keep ‘me coming!
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Sorry, keep ’em coming, not me! *
@NNY.
Ho. ho, ho…. I enjoyed the double entendre. Was it a typo or Auto-correct working overtime again?
ed,
You are too funny. But it was auto correct, because when I typed the correction it did it again. Changed it to me! So I had to correct it again! Auto correct has a mind of its own!
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hahahahahahahahaha…
Oh ed! You’re terrible!
Mira, with all the comments on that piece, I had to have a read. There was nothing wrong with it, and I found it rather interesting. It was just an attempt to quantify the extent to which Nadal is better on clay vs. other surfaces as compared to Federer. It didn’t tell us anything we didn’t already know: Rafa is much better on clay, as compared to other surfaces, than any other top player is on a particular surface as compared to all others. ELO is a standard system for that sort of thing; it’s widely used, e.g. in chess.
The “Economist” is not a sports magazine, obviously. Using “Mr” may be part of their editorial style, as it is for the New York Times. It’s the kind of feature that would appeal to their readership. In any case, keep sending those articles!
No surprise Joe.
Was written by and for the typical fedfan.
elo is only brought up by fedfans imo.
I would think a numbers man like you would have no objection to something like elo. I’ve never encountered it in a tennis context, which doesn’t even rate a mention in its wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elo_rating_system
In the proper context yes, but not for comparing players at differing points in time because it ignores the level of competition at different points in history.
MA, I have to agree somewhat with Hawkeye. I think the article you linked is full of so called backhanded compliments. And I’m not talking about Rafa’s improved backhand, lol! The writer seems to aim at making Rafa’s clay court prowess into something which is a negative contrast to Fed’s all court prowess.
But nevermind. Thank you very much all the same for all the links you found for us in the aftermath of Rafa’s great win. I find them very interesting and informative. Some are very touching.
Nny & littlefoot…Thank u for your opinion guys..i really really appreciate it very much…ermm…clearly i made a mistake on this one…sorry guys!..my english is not very good..and i proved it big time with this one!!hahaha…blushing!blushing!!woohoo!!…I promise i’ll do better next time k,guys?
MA,
I join with littlefoot in saying that you don’t owe us an apology. You do a great job with these links! I have learned a lot from them.
It’s really not a big deal if there is one lemon in the bunch!
Thanks for all that you do!
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Yup. Agreed.
Keep me coming! I mean keep’EM coming LOL!
You’re the best MA.
I wonder about this: when did the RG trophy ceremony organizers order the making of the life size replica trophy, the La Decima Trophy? For all we know they had to consider the possibility of La Decima after Rafa’s 9th victory in 2014. So, is the La Decima Trophy a fairly recent brain child because of Rafa’s 2017 renaissance, or has the replica been gathering dust for two years?? Especially in 2016 Rafa was in apparently great shape after all and a lot of experts predicted La Decima. The withdrawal after two routinely won matches was a shock.
It’s probably a back up always ready to go.
They will have to make another back up now.
MA, you didn’t make a mistake at all, when you linked the article! It was a very interesting read after all.
Hawkeye, they may have indeed a back up trophy. But the plans for a La Decima celebration might’ve been in place for a couple of years. Maybe, they are concocting plans for “The Dirty Douzen” as we speak 😉
Keep posting links Mira. Some will be bad but most would be good. So thanks for all the work that you do! The Mr Nadal post is indeed very weird but how did it get published on a respectable site?
Yeah that what I was wondering.
MA: Dont berate yourself.
That article was an unusual departure from the normal Economist editorial style. They specialise in explaining complex matters in a concise and easily understood way knowing that English is not the first language for a large percentage of their readership.
Mira: It is a puzzle how the article ever got past the sub-editors. It does not fulfill any of the criteria laid down in the Economist editorial policy and is not even interesting unless you are an avid student of tennis statistics. And don’t berate yourself for putting up that link nor for your grasp of the English language: you make yourself understood and communicate your love of tennis and for one particular player. That’s what matters at the end of the day!!!!!
ed,
You seem to have a lot more knowledge about The Economist than I did. I think the information you related about this magazine was quite enlightening. I am surprised that this piece made it past editors for publication. It doesn’t seem typical at all of what the magazine is about.
Also, I agree that MA should not think it has anything to do with her understanding of the English language. She does express herself extremely well.
I am glad that you said those kind words to her. She is a good soul with a big heart!
Nny!ed!Mary!Hawks,Joe!littlefoot!….Oh God!..U GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!….Thank u thank u thank u for your kind words!…i’m deeply touched by your gesture guys!!
Yeah,everytime i found an articles..i couldn’t wait to give it to u guys because i knew we share the same passion that named Rafael Nadal…and yayyy!! i’m really really glad u liked[well..almost!hehe] the articles that i gave it to u so far…THANK U SO MUCH GUYS!!
The French Open guys had obviously prepared for La decima in terms of banners, cups etc. Now, as Lttlefoot says, they are readying themselves for the dirty dozen and maybe also the baker’s dozen!
Rafa has withdrawn from queens saying he needs to rest and doctor has advised him to.
Must have been the watchful eye of his doctor.
Always worried when I hear any time even just one of his eyes is watching Rafa’s practice.
Too bad he won’t have a Wimbledon tune up but more importantly hope Rafa’s ok for Wimby and longer term!
Hope he has some good fishing.
Obviously there is some physical issue. I had a doubt when augusta posted a picture of Rafa practising under the watchful eye of his doctor.
Hope he is ok at least for the summer hard court season. I don’t have any hopes for Wimbly now even if he takes part.
Though I suppose if he did take part, I will have hopes even if I don’t want to.
#BeingARafaFan
Posted a picture during French open is it ?
yes
Sanju,
That is a bit concerning to hear. I thought Rafa came out of RG in good shape. I wonder if this is about his knees.
Rafa always felt it was important to play a warm up tournament before Wimbledon. I wonder if this means that he won’t play at Wimby.
Wimbledon pull-out possible. Regardless, he would lose early. Why bother. Grass is for cows!!
No he has said he is playing wimby and is withdrawing due to tiredness and as he is 31 he needs to take it easy
Yep, and the Queen’s pull-out hasn’t moved his Wimby odds; still 5/1.
Now at 7.0