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Unbeatable? This was one of King Nadal’s finest performances
2 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Right from the get-go, Rafael Nadal came out at full fury, grunting and roaring like a lion who was desperate to regain his status as the kingpin of the tennis jungle. Nothing was going to stop Nadal today, not even the brutal power of Robin Soderling who just could not keep up with this phenomenally driven man who now has to be considered the greatest clay court player of all time.
Soderling had his openings in the first set to take the early lead but Nadal defied him. Soderling had more opportunites to level the match but again Nadal, the lion king of Roland Garros, swatted him away with viciously accurate swipes of his Babolat racquet.
Soderling never could get on track and it really didn’t matter, an inch here or there, or more conversions on break points, the Swede was never going to beat Rafael Nadal on this day.
Maybe no man in the history of tennis could have beaten Nadal today.
King Rafa will take over the #1 ranking from Roger after winning in Paris
Dan Markowitz · June 6, 2010 at 7:55 pm
It is a shame that Soderling could not capitalize on all those break points he had in the second game of the second set. The Swede did not look sharp and if he discovered a way to pierce Nadal’s armor with his victory last year at Roland Garros, he certainly forgot it quick.
I could not believe that Soderling or Magnus Norman, his coach, didn’t come up with the idea to charge the net when Nadal was on the run hitting back balls that could’ve been easy volleys. Instead, Sody retreated to the baseline time and again when he could’ve shortened points.
This match broke the record of 23 straight Slams where either Roger Federer won or the player who beat Federer won. Amazing stat. Last year there were three Slam finals on the men’s side that went the distance, five sets, this year there has been two disappointing three-set romps. The problem is that no one has stepped up to challenge Nadal and Federer yet in a decisive way.
Scoop Malinowski · June 6, 2010 at 8:49 pm
I don’t think Soderling forgot anything, Nadal just played an incredible match, played amazing defense, didn’t miss, saved all the break points as if his life depended on it. This was a very highly motivated Nadal – a better Nadal than last year – and Soderling just could do nothing to stop the runaway train. When Nadal is playing like that, there’s nothing anyone can do.