09 June 2006

French Open Final Might Make History

It's down to the final weekend, and only 2 men now stand between Roger Federer and tennis history. Unfortunately, those 2 men have beaten Federer more than anyone else on the tour. Federer seems to have overcome the Nalbandian curse, but he has his hands full with Rafael Nadal. Nadal has won 57 straight matches on clay and is the defending French Open champ. He is the only player to beat Federer this year. So Federer has to beat the best clay court player in the world on his best surface (I am assuming Nadal will win his semifinal).

That's a tall order, and when I think about it, that's how it should be. To win 4 straight slams in amazing enough, but to beat the world's best clay-courter and defending champ on clay would be truly extraordinary. What a way to complete a Grand Slam.

But like I said, that's a tall order. I can't remember a more anticipated matchup in a grand slam final. This is the one everyone has been drooling for. I just hope it doesn't turn out to be a dud. That's happened too often in the French finals in recent years.

Go Roger!

5 comments:

K. said...

I typically root against the dominant teams and superstar players....but I have always loved Federer.

Nadal is annoying - those short/pant things just look so stupid. I saw some dude at the Central Park courts wearing them last weekend...you have to be Nadal-like-good to get away with an outfit that stupid.

WestEnder said...

Must be a Mallorcan thing. I was just thinking about it the other day and I thought, you know, he's pretty much the only guy who could wear those and get away with it.

I saw McEnroe play with a pair once. It looked ridiculous, as you'd expect.

I asked my 15-yr old niece(who plays) about Nadal. She's not sure about the pants but she likes his hair.

K. said...

actually - now that i think about it- when i was 15 i had that Nike - Agassi poster in my room where he's got that awful hair, and wearing those orange spandex under the acid-wash denim shorts. that wasn't such a great look either.

My real favorite player was Edberg - traditional, simple hair, nice plain Adidas outfit, great serve and volley game, quiet, non-obnoxious. classy. sophisticated.

WestEnder said...

Edberg was fantastic. It was a sad day when he left the game. The Becker-Edberg showdowns were great. He won the sportsmanship award so many times they named it after him.

Edberg was the first big guy that I can recall who moved around the court so well. I don't think he got enough credit for being speedy. Today all the big guys move well, but back then he was the only one.

K. said...

i hate Nadal.

is he stupid, young, or just have trouble with the language barrier? (maybe all of the above, i guess) because he is awful in interviews.

also - move beyond the clay kid - why don't you tell me how you really want to work hard and compete at wimbledon.