Friday, June 8, 2007

Rafael Nadal.. unstoppable!

Sometimes I really wonder what the word 'sport' means? Is it the executiveness displayed by Golf, or athleticism by Soccer or craftiness by Snooker? At times, we witness the biggest games being played involving the biggest stars, but it still fails to evoke that feeling of the real Sport! However, sometimes it does just the opposite..
Time and again I've watched several sporting events, but it really counts when I do get a shot in my adrenaline. The second semi finals played at Roland Garros came pretty close to it, sadly though it wasn't able to sustain throughout the match.
How often have we seen Rafael Nadal getting flustered? And how many times has it happened on clay? Not many for sure. Yeah, he did lose at the recently concluded Hamburg Open, but then it did prove that he's not a robot! On the other hand, Djokovic has been a rising star, and somehow I see little shades of his opponent in him. Perhaps the one thing that he really needs to get in is RESILIENCE! Nadal showed why he's perhaps the most exciting player on the tennis circuit. We have seen the likes of Thomas Muster in the past who've been simply brilliant on clay, but this kid has lot more than that.
Rafael Nadal looks unstoppable to say the least. This wonderboy from Spain has 'headstrong' written all over him. Give him an inch, and he'll look to take the entire piece, or rather more than that. I am not saying that he's the greatest tennis player on the planet, its Federer who takes that spot. But what Nadal brings to this sport is something more magical!

A scoresheet of 7-5,6-4,6-2 in the favor of Nadal doesn't speak volumes of the match, but ask the folks who saw the match. The first set was a cracker, a supreme exhibition of power and precision. Nadal was great leading 5-2 at one point of time, but then Djokovic showed his abilities by breaking Rafa twice and levelling at 5 each. Mark Woodford would have been proud of the way Djokovic volleyed the ball on clay! Sadly though, the other 2 sets didn't really generate the same excitement level. But it was not that Djokovic played bad, but rather Nadal forced him into submission, we could see it with Djokovic applauding his opponent more than once. Such was the quality of tennis.
Sunday's final might just turn out to be a replay of the last year's event between Federer and Nadal. Roger did manage to end his 81 win streak on clay, but I guess another's just begun!

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