Nadal at Crossroads

Rafael Nadal is making news these days for the entertainment section. It is hard to believe that when we think of Nadal these days, the immediate images that flash in our mind’s eye are – Nadal cozying up with Shakira in the corner table of a restaurant or Uncle Tony’s horrible performance in the Spanish version of Dancing with the Stars or for the more imaginative among us - Maria Francisca Perello and Shakira going at each other in a night club!! Not so long ago, these images were that of a bulldozer in tennis shorts, bulging biceps and a muscular frame and fidgeting on the baseline, making ferocious darts side to side and chasing down impossible shots. It is hard to believe that a player who is celebrated for his amazing court speed, unparalleled fighting spirit and mind-numbing topspin looking increasingly like nothing but a pale shadow of his former self. Sure, he could still curl forehands into the court at 3200 rpm from 10 feet behind the baseline but of late, his shots are frequently lacking the depth and penetration and his signature strut is almost non-existent due to a severe drain of confidence in recent months. No wonder his results have taken dip and his ranking has slipped. He hasn’t won a title since last June and hasn’t beaten a top ten player in the last 10 months or so.

So, the big question on everyone’s mind is not just “What the hell is wrong with Rafa?” but if he could ever be the player he was in 2008 and the early part of 2009. After all, he was the player who dethroned King Federer and famously reduced him to tears in defeat. The lowest point for all Federer fans was not his loss in the Wimbledon final but the AO 2009 final where Nadal broke him down physically and mentally and signaled the beginning of a new era in Tennis. This certainly felt like a defining moment in which any fervent Federer fan would have felt like writing an elaborate elegy. It was like a Prince usurping the throne of an unwilling King, not with cunning and chicanery but in a prize fight confronting him head on, going toe to toe and subduing him in the end. Sadly, his reign didn’t last long and we can come up with any number of excuses for it – be it bad knees or breaking up of his parents. Despite the outpouring of opinions and premature obituaries from various quarters, what everyone witnessed later was not a funeral procession and a hearse carrying Roger’s coffin! It was the resurgence of a King who had been able to quickly summon his best and within a short span of time stake his claim as the greatest of all time.

The sound beating Nadal took in the hands of young Andy Murray in the Australian Open quarter finals and his dramatic retirement in the third set helped fuel the fears and dropped an extra load to his accumulating pile of problems. This loss was particularly gratifying to his detractors and will surely provide ample fodder for critics and supporters alike in the weeks and months to come.

There are so many questions about him at the moment and there are no easy answers. Have the other players finally figured out a way to play him? After all, the likes of Djokovic, Davydenko, Murray and Del Potro were able to dominate him in recent months. Players like Berdych, Blake and Gonzo were able to hit through and over power him in the past. Has his level dipped? It is obvious that it has dipped and the problem is - with his style of play, he needs to be 100% fit and even if he is off by 5% it translates to his shots falling short and losing their sting. Is his game after all so one-dimensional like Federer put it some time ago? Well, in the early years of their rivalry, Federer thought he could figure him out like he figured out Nalbandian or Hewitt. One cannot fault Federer too much for this, after all Nadal’s game is deceptively one dimensional. From the outset it appears as though it is all topspin, court speed and retrieval. But he was able to add remarkable aggression to all his strokes and that has made him such a difficult opponent for everyone. It is this offensive element that won him the Wimbledon and Australian Open titles. Is the clock simply ticking before his body breaks down completely and he is forced to take an extended break or even a semi-retirement? This is a question on almost everyone’s mind. But it is easy to forget the fact that he is still very young at 24 and a tremendous athlete. If Uncle Tony wakes up and shows a little more discretion and make Rafa play a sensible schedule, eliminating the Valencias and Rotterdams, fitness shouldn’t be a career threatening issue for him.

When Nadal became No:1 in 2008, there were so many expectations from everyone and that included Pete Sampras who thought his record of 14 grand slams was under the threat not just from Federer but from Nadal as well. Unfortunately, things turned out quite differently afterwards and we all wish there will soon be a revival of the Federer – Nadal rivalry. It is good for everyone – fans, sports writers and tennis.