SHOULD RAFAEL NADAL BE THE TOP SEED AT ROLAND GARROS?
Text and Photos by Henk Abbink
I would say, Why not? Wimbledon, in their seeding, prides itself to not follow the official ATP ranking, looking at a combination of ranking and past results on their holy grass and other grass tournaments. So why would the French Open not do the same when it comes to clay?
Roland Garros decided not to make any exceptions and will follow the ATP rankings. Rafa himself couldn’t care less whether he is (now, after beating Ferrer in the quarterfinal ) the no. 4 or no. 1 seed. He knows that to win in Paris or anywhere else, he needs to beat every player anyway. His uncle Toni, rival Roger and other players felt it would be correct and fair to seed him at no. 1 or 2. When Nadal was still ranked no. 5 and even now at no.4 it’s not so much about fairness but more about what’s good for the tournament also. However, with Andy Murray most likely not participating at RG (back injury), Nadal would become the no. 3 seed. This would save a possible and most wanted final outcome by tennis fans all over, who are looking forward to either a Novak-Rafa or a Roger-Rafa clash. Yes, I am assuming Rafa will go all the way no matter who he will meet in the semis.
THE RIVALRY CONTINUES
Which brings us to today’s highly anticipated and possibly epic Roger-Rafa encounter in Rome. The H2H between the two rivals and friends is 19-10 in Rafa’s favour. I will not indulge in in-depth predictions but look forward to seeing a high quality 30th edition of their rivalry. The only prediction I will make, is that if Roger plays the way he played against Benoit Paire yesterday, the match will be over for him in straight sets. Therefore, I hope we will see both of them at 100%.
This is Rafa’s eighth consecutive final since his return in as many tournaments. He will go for a seventh Rome championship and 24th Masters win. He holds an incredible record 23 Masters trophies. Roger will go after this first Rome crown and 22nd Master’s trophy. This will be the Swiss’ first final of the season. In yesterday’s interview Roger said: “It almost doesn’t matter what the surface or what the conditions are. I’ve got to play aggressive tennis and take it to Rafa. I know he doesn’t give me much on clay. He’s got incredible spin. He’s had an incredible comeback, so I’m really happy for him. But someone has got to stop him, so I hope it’s me.â€
Roger and Rafa played an epic best of five Rome final seven years ago, in which the Mallorcan edged Roger in a fifth set tiebreak. Let’s hope for another epic battle today between these two giants. The outcome is almost secondary as, usually, when these archrivals meet it is tennis that wins!
(Federer training with his pal Stan Wawrinka in Rome.)
Rafa and Roger meet for 30th time today
67 comments
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« Previous 1 2Henk · May 22, 2013 at 9:50 am
“All those times in 2011” Scoop, to be exact were TWO occasions. You start sounding like Peter Bodo 😉
Doesn’t really matter what explanation you’re trying to find, he didn’t make it to the Paris finals in 2011 and lost in 2012.
So, you “don’t think Novak was giving it his every ounce of energy” last year?
Sure, that must be the explanation why he went through the trouble of making it to the finals of Monte Carlo only to lose against Rafa, made it to the finals of Rome and then lose again, made it all the way to the finals of Paris to lose again.
This year, so far, Novak won one clay title and was eliminated in the following two clay Masters.
Anyway, Scoop, the discuccion is useless. Let’s just wait and see if Novak will make it to the final in Paris at all. I know you were among those to shout there was a “new King of Clay” after Rafa’s loss in Monte Carlo. However, your new king showed absolutely nothing on clay after that win.
Oh, I forgot, he was probably resting on his laurels… because of “All of those wins” (TWO to be exact) two years ago. So, of course, he doesn’t really have to give it energy to prove he’s better than Rafa who raked in NINE clay titles since then, amongst others two Grand Slams (Paris) and four Masters (Monte Carlo, Rome, Madrid and again Rome).
Wonder why you are so quick in proclaiming a new king of clay, without looking at what the reigning one has been achieving on a consistent basis since 2005?
Henk · May 22, 2013 at 10:03 am
PS: Make that raking in TEN titles! (I forgot Barcelona in 2012)
Scoop Malinowski · May 22, 2013 at 10:49 am
No tennis talk is useless Henk, it’s all part of the process of the hype building up to this major title we are all excited to see. Please don’t think I disrespect Rafa in anyway like Bodo does. I think he’s the best to ever play the game, his style dethroned the previous GOAT Federer. Rafa has won everything there is to win, including Davis Cup and the Olympics in singles, Roger has not come close to winning the Davis Cup even though he has a great partner in Stan. I believe Rafa is superior to Federer as a player, smarter, stronger, tougher mentally. But I see signs that Djokovic is superior to Rafa even on clay. It’s still a rivalry that is evolving and we don’t have our final determination yet. I really honestly believe Djokovic will prove himself to be the superior to Rafa. We’ll see. I am not being anti Rafa like Bodo, I am just calling it like I see it with fairness and respect to both players. Not to disrespect Federer, he has had the greatest career of any player ever, but I think Rafa’s style is superior to Roger’s as proven by the head to head.
Steve · May 22, 2013 at 11:12 am
Rafa is not better than Fed. You have to look at their wins against the entire field. Rafa can barely handle Davydenko but Federer cushes Davydenko.
You make too much of H2H, isolated match-ups.
I guess Davydenko is better than Rafa by your standards.
Will Rafa be #2 in the world at 32 yrs old? I wouldn’t judge him too harshly at that age.
Scoop Malinowski · May 22, 2013 at 1:14 pm
Yes I think Rafa will be around into his 30s and he will stay high in the rankings. I think he’s knees are much stronger than we are lead to believe. Federer had a losing record to Hrbaty it doesn’t make Hrbaty the better player. Davydenko matches up well with Nadal but zero majors to Rafa’s haul tells the story. Fed has 17 but Rafa ain’t done yet. Rafa is clearly the superior player to Roger, how many times more does he need to prove it head to head? Rome final showed it clearly. Another credit to Rafa is how he has succeeded such a great champion as Federer. He has done it with style and class and has earned total respect. Look at poor Larry Holmes who was never accepted for replacing Muhammad Ali. How Rafa has managed to replace Federer as the king of tennis is just another mark on his amazing legacy.
Steve · May 22, 2013 at 1:36 pm
You keep saying H2H. Roger beat Nadal at WTF? Cause it was a fast court like courts during his dominant phase. Both at their peak of 26 yrs old Federer was bit better on all surfaces but grass. It’s close but I think Federer’s records in his era speak for themselves.
Sampras also wasn’t as dominate at 31 when playing the Federer’s & Hewitt’s. Again the natural arc of a career.
At some point Nadal will lose to younger players. Maybe a Rosol type.
Steve · May 22, 2013 at 1:38 pm
^^ I mean dominant on all surfaces but clay. 🙂
Don’t forget Davy was a Top 10 player and he & Rafa played 11 times.
Scoop Malinowski · May 22, 2013 at 2:04 pm
Steve, I interviewed Bogomolov about Federer and he played him in 2004 and 2012, he said Federer was a much better player the second time they played.
Book excerpt “Facing Federer”
Alex Bogomolov Jr.: “I remember the first time I played him was Australian Open, the first year he won it. And I qualified fairly easy there. I think I lost a total of nine games in three matches, so I was going in very, very confident. In good shape. I remember we walked on the stadium court, the first couple of games were tight. And then after that, the third set was six-all and he wasn’t even breaking a sweat and I was like fully drenched and everything. I just remember his slice was so aggressive, such an offensive shot that I couldn’t do anything with the ball. And anytime he sliced the ball, the point was pretty much over because the next ball was an easy ball for him. That’s the one memory I remember.”
Question: The second match was in 2012. Your memories from that one?
Alex Bogomolov Jr.: “I played him last year in Cincinnati and from that match I don’t think I had a break point. The last game, the way he was serving, I don’t think he hit the same serve twice the whole match. Every serve had a different spin, a different objective that he wanted to serve with, for meaning. I just remember I had no chance on the returns.”
Question: It sounds like he was even more difficult to play the second time than the first?
Alex Bogomolov Jr.: “Yeah, he’s definitely gotten better, that’s why he’s the best player in the game, because he’s developed all the shots in the game. He doesn’t have one hole that you can particularly go to and think that you’re going to win the point. He has every angle covered.”
2004 Australian Open R128 Federer 36 46 06
2012 Cincinnati R32 Federer 36 26
Steve · May 22, 2013 at 3:02 pm
I’m gonna need more than a quote from Bogman. They only played twice and the scores were pretty much the same both times.
You just have to open your eyes look at how he played on YouTube. He can still tap into it for sure but he’s not 26 anymore.
Scoop Malinowski · May 22, 2013 at 8:57 pm
Bogie was a lot higher ranked in 2012 and he was a much better player too then. Would have been interesting how 26 yr old Fed deals with prime Djokovic and his two hander.
Steve · May 23, 2013 at 12:44 am
Djokovic is not too much of an issue for him. Since you love the H2H stat you know that and he’s not going to catch his slam count.
Scoop Malinowski · May 23, 2013 at 8:31 am
Head to head over the last couple years is the key part of the equation Steve. Djokovic has handled Fed in most of the big matches. I still think it was the overwhelming crowd support in 2011 in Paris which uplifted Fed and bothered Djokovic. Fan support absolutely does make a difference sometimes, many players have said this as I have cited at this site several times.
Steve · May 23, 2013 at 9:21 am
Why do you ignore age in the equation? Well, ya know when Fed is 35 or 40 or something Djokovic might finally even out the H2H. 🙂
You example of Paris is not true and never was. They were not rude to Djokovic. The crowd was perfectly quiet during points. All pros must deal with all kinds of crowds. I don’t remember Lendl being warmly received.
Scoop Malinowski · May 23, 2013 at 9:57 am
Steve but you’re ignoring the age equation too, most of Fed’s wins vs. Djokovic came when Djokovic was very young and green ) But even the young and green Djokovic was able to beat Fed in Montreal remember that one? Like I said earlier, I think Fed is actually a better player now at 31 – as Bogie illustrated – but the problem for Fed is he has three arch rivals now who have figured out how to beat him – Rafa, Djokovic and Murray. Berdych makes four as T Berd has beaten Fed the last two times they played. The quality bar of tennis has been raised and Federer is struggling to hang on. Of course, you have to factor that maybe Fed’s hunger and motivation is not as strong now at his age, with the family, he said he plays more now for love of the game not as much for records, etc. A fractional drop in these areas could be the fine line difference between winning and losing. I think Rafa would break the 17 total but with Murray and Djokovic playing so well, they’ll probably end up blocking him short of 17.
Steve · May 23, 2013 at 10:53 am
Movement is most important. Fed doesn’t move like he did when he was 26 right now. One in a while he does but not match after match.
I don’t believe playing Fed twice tells you much as far as the Bogman quote goes. Fed may have not been trying his best the first time they played & took it easy. Who knows. Two matches is not enough of a sample size.
The hunger seems to have lessened this year. He wanted to reach #1 again and he did it and got another slam like a few of us predicted and quieted you guys down for a little while. 🙂 He’s become the elder statesman of tennis. He could have retired after his last Wimby or years earlier but loves tennis.
Scoop Malinowski · May 23, 2013 at 5:11 pm
Fed said last year Steve that he’s not playing so much for records now but for the love of playing the game itself. He’ still ultra competitive obviously, but I think he understands and accepts it’s a new era with a new king sitting on the throne at the top of the sport.
Steve · May 23, 2013 at 5:59 pm
^^Exactly Scoop. Agree. 🙂