The King of Clay was too much for even the great Roger Federer. In the first 1 vs 2 men's final at Roland Garros since 1984 when Ivan Lendl defeated John McEnroe, Rafael Nadal won his second consecutive French Open by bouncing back to get the best of Federer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (4) Sunday at Court Chatrier.
Nadal is the first men's champion at Paris to repeat since Gustavo Kuerten in 2001. It was the 20-year-old Spaniard's Open Era record 60th straight victory on clay and also his 100th career win.
By defeating the Swiss world number one, the second seeded back-to-back winner denied history. Federer was trying to become the sixth man to complete the career Grand Slam. The 24-year-old top seed was looking for his first slam title in Paris which would've also made him the first player to win four majors in a row since Rod Laver did it back in 1969.
"I tried. I can't do more than try," a disappointed Federer expressed at a postmatch conference. "But having this real unique opportunity that we haven't seen in such a long time in tennis- obviously, it's a pity."
"He's the best player I ever played, the best in history, the most complete," an emotional Nadal told the capacity crowd during the trophy ceremony. "It incredible to feel this emotion again in Paris, my favorite city. I'm really happy. I passed some very difficult moments. It's a dream for me."
Nadal became the first player to defeat Federer in a grand slam final, ending the No.1 seed's perfect 7-0 record. It was the best start to a career dating back to the 19th century.
Federer also had his 27 match win streak in majors stopped. Ironically, Nadal was the last player to beat him at last year's French Open semifinals, also prevailing in four sets. In another twist, all four of Federer's defeats this year have come at the expense of Nadal (Federer is 44-0 against everyone else). His fifth consecutive win over Federer dating back to last year improved him to 6-1 in head-to-head career meetings.
"I can't say I'm better than him. Since I was born, I've never seen a more complete player. He's the best," Nadal reiterated at a postmatch conference. "Maybe he was nervous, too. Roger was playing today for being on the top of history. This pressure is a lot, no?"
Federer might concur after starting out so well in his debut French Open final. The 24-year-old seven time slam winner got off to a great start against the defending champion.
After fighting off break points in the opening game before holding, Federer found his rhythm against an uncharacteristically unsteady Nadal. Looking nervous at the start, Nadal couldn't find the range from the baseline. Broken in his first two service games, he fell behind Federer 5-0. After Nadal finally held to get on the board, Federer easily wrapped up the first set to pull ahead.
In the first set, Nadal made 12 unforced errors. But that would change dramatically in a pivotal second set which saw him commit just two errors while Federer came unglued.
"I am a very consistent player," a triumphant Nadal expressed after finishing with only 28 unforced errors (23 less than his opponent). "Generally, I'm able to maintain a good level, an average level. I believe you should not make a mistake."
After each player held to start the set, a huge turning point took place in the third game. Up 40-0, Federer was a point from 2-1 when a key overrule allowed Nadal to stay alive in the game. During a rally, a Nadal shot which landed on the baseline was initially ruled out. But Federer noticed the mark and the chair umpire came out to confirm that it was good, forcing a replay of the point. Shockingly, the No.1 seed missed three routine shots and dropped the game to Nadal for the break.
It allowed Nadal to gain confidence. While Federer's game fell off dramatically to the tune of 19 unforced errors in a set reversal, Nadal kept his shots in to take advantage and roll to a 6-1 set which leveled the match.
"I won the first set easily, and usually in a situation like that I don't let things go by. But it's a final. It's against Nadal. It's on clay," Federer pointed out. "That makes it very difficult- more difficult maybe than other cases."
After the two top seeds split atypical lopsided sets, the third set was closer and once again turned in two key games.
With Nadal serving down 1-2, an aggressive Federer suddenly took the first three points to setup three break chances. After Nadal denied the first two, Federer missed a bread and butter forehand down the line wide. Federer setup a fourth break point but Nadal coolly thwarted it with an ace before holding for two all.
In the very next game, Nadal broke a shaken Federer to go ahead 3-2 thanks to two more miscues including a missed overhead and a short forehand.
"I improved in my confidence," Nadal said. "I was thinking, 'Now is my chance.'"
Unchallenged on serve and taking advantage of a shaky Federer backhand which accounted for more than half his 51 miscues, Nadal held three more times to pull within a set of repeating.
When Nadal broke Federer at love to begin the fourth set and then ran off the next four points to hold for 2-0, it looked like the end was in sight.
Each player took turns holding until Nadal was one game away from claiming the championship. Having faced no pressure on his serve all set and 5-4 up, he attemped to serve it out before a boisterous crowd which included a Swiss contingent of Federer supporters. With them urging their man on to extend the match with chants of "Rog---er, Rog---er," Nadal tightened up during the crucial game to drop serve.
But it was how Federer stayed alive which had fans on their feet. With Nadal up 30-15 two points away from victory, a dramatic turnaround took place. In a winning position to setup two championship points, Nadal's leg accidentally touched the net, giving Federer the point for 30-all. That's when the best point of the match happened.
During a tense extended rally, Nadal pushed his opponent from side-to-side and looked to have hit a winner three different times. But a determined Federer slid across the clay to track down each ball and eventually forced Nadal into a backhand miss to take the point to setup the break opportunity. When Nadal misfired on a crosscourt forehand, Federer had his first break since the fourth game of the match for five all to the delight of the crowd.
On the strength of two aces, Federer then held for 6-5 before Nadal put the set in a tiebreak with another successive hold.
In the breaker, Federer went ahead 2-1 for a minibreak when Nadal netted a forehand. However, in surprising fashion, he dropped both his points on serve due to errors to put Nadal up 3-2. After Nadal struck a clean forehand winner for 4-2, he went ahead 5-2 when a Federer forehand sailed long.
Desperate to stay alive, Federer took both points on his serve with a volley winner and a Nadal miss to reach 4-5, putting the match on Nadal's racket.
After a Nadal first serve out wide produced a service winner to setup two championship points, he sealed the match in style with a swinging forehand volley winner inside the line to wrap up his second straight French Open. A jubilant Nadal fell to his knees before rolling around on the clay. After finally getting up, he was warmly congratulated by Federer at the net.
"I was thinking about nothing," Nadal explained. "You just don't feel the tension anymore. I didn't even realize I was falling on the ground. I didn't fall myself on the ground. I just fell. I didn't think about it before."
"I had missed opportunities," Federer said. "I had them early in the second set. If I break in the third set at Love 40, the match again is different. And in the fourth I had my chance again. So anyway it was a pity, but I didn't play as good maybe as the last few matches. But his level was, once again, solid after the tough start in the first set. He makes it tough, and I guess in the end he deserves to win."
Raymond and Stosur Team Up To Claim Women's Doubles Crown: American Lisa Raymond and Australian Samantha Stosur took the women's doubles title by defeating Ai Sugiyama and Daniela Hantuchova 6-3, 6-2 on Court Lenglen Sunday.
It was the top seeds first ever French Open title as a team. The victory allowed Raymond to become the 13th woman in the Open Era to achieve a career doubles Grand Slam.
"You know, it's funny. The first thing I said to Sam when we won was, 'Thank you for finally getting me this title,'" an excited Raymond told reporters after the big victory.
"I think I have like three or four doubles and two mixed finalists here, trophies, that I don't even want to look at. To finally be able to win here, you know, to complete the Slam, I mean, that's just an unbelievable feeling."
"I knew going into this match how much Lisa wanted to win this one, and I'm just glad that I could be the one that happened to be on the court with her when she got it," Stosur pointed out. "I'm just really ‑ I mean, I'm happy for us but I'm also very happy for her to achieve that."
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