Roger Alton Roger Alton

Victories for Rafa, Rory and rain

Hardly any men can hit a tennis ball on clay better than Dominic Thiem. Unfortunately he ran into one who could in the French Open final last Sunday. It is worth reflecting on the extraordinary scale of Rafael Nadal’s achievement, besides his ability to rock a very stylish yellow T-shirt. This was his 12th win in 15 attempts at Roland Garros and one of his three ‘failures’ was a withdrawal in 2016 with a wrist injury. That’s two defeats in 15 years on the most punishing grand slam surface. Has there ever been a blend of athlete and venue to rival it?

Rafa’s savage spin on the forehand has always been his greatest weapon, along with his remorseless strength and fitness. But now his attitude and intensity have become, if possible, even more ferocious. His backhand has improved, his serve is more powerful and he volleys like a grass-court expert. He is also a master tactician, with a canny understanding that if plan A isn’t working you may as well change it (something our politicians could learn from).

In a fascinating article for the ATP Tour website, Craig O’Shannessy shows that Nadal lost the second set because his baseline strategy wasn’t yielding enough points. Normally when a rally goes over nine shots, Rafa will win it. Not in the early stages of this match. He played 35 long rallies in the first two sets, which were very even; but only 11 in the final two sets, when he destroyed Thiem 6-1, 6-1. Nadal abandoned the policy of grinding it out from the baseline. He became more aggressive, played the match like a sprint in the last two sets and came out overwhelmingly on top.

While we’re talking about masters, I’ve always said that when Rory McIlroy is playing well, especially putting, he’s the best golfer in the world by some distance.

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