Is Rafael Nadal the Bane or the Best?: A Study of Unlikely Tennis Rivalries

Bane /beɪn/
–noun
1. A person or thing that ruins or spoils.
-- Dictionary.com

The character Bane, introduced to readers of DC Comics in 1993, will never be as famous as his primary foe, Batman. Those who are aware of him primarily know him as the man who temporarily incapacitated the hero by breaking his back. No matter what else his character does, his niche will always be in what his name implies; he ruins or spoils things for the more accomplished character.

Some would argue that Rafael Nadal is currently doing so to Roger Federer. If that is accurate, he's hardly the first. Many players in men's tennis over the past few decades have also struggled mightily with competitors whose careers are less decorated than theirs.

Let's look at some examples of this phenomenon, and explore the reasons why it takes place.

-- Image courtesy of DC Comics.

Boris Becker vs. Brad Gilbert

Tennis magazine once compared the match-up between these two to a squirt gun overcoming a tank. Gilbert, who possessed neither great power nor athleticism, won four of his first five matches with Becker, a player who had both.

As documented in his book, Gilbert purposely took the pace off the ball, playing loopy or slice shots and taking advantage of the big but young German's knack for combustion. In doing so, he permanently added the phrase "Winning Ugly" to the tennis lexicon and ensured a profitable future coaching career for himself.

Starting in 1989, however, a more mature Becker began a streak of five wins against his American nuisance, and didn't lose a set in their last four meetings.

Bane Status: Solved

Pete Sampras vs. Richard Krajicek

Few of those Sampras played multiple times had winning records against him. Those who do include Sergi Bruguera (3-2), Marat Safin (4-3), Lleyton Hewitt (5-4) and Michael Stich (5-4).

It was the Dutchman Krajicek (6-4), however, who was responsible for the most of the great American's bitterest defeats. This is especially true of the 1996 Wimbledon quarterfinal in which Krajicek defeated Sampras in straight sets; the American's only Wimbledon loss from 1993-2000. Krajicek also bounced the Sampras from no less than three Masters Series events and one Davis Cup rubber.

The reasons for this were wholly different from the Becker-Gilbert dynamic: With a huge yet smooth serve, adept volleys and a running forehand that rivaled Sampras', Krajicek had the game to go toe-to-toe with anyone. After a defeat in 1999, Sampras said that his Dutch bane had the talent to be No. 1.

Not the consistency, though. Hampered by injuries and his erratic play, Krajicek never built on his 1996 Wimbledon win. Sampras took their last two matches (three if you count the Kooyang exhibition players use as a prelude to the Australian Open).

Their final match in the quarterfinals of the 2000 U.S. Open said it all: Krajicek won the first set, and led 6-2 in the second set tiebreaker. Thanks to errors from the Dutchman and a string of winners from the American, Sampras won six points in a row, then ran away with the match.

They were nearly equals in terms of shots, but in terms of head and heart, Sampras was light-years ahead of Krajicek.

Bane Status: Solved

Yevgeny Kafelnikov vs. Dominik Hrbaty/Thomas Johansson

Kafelnikov won the 1996 Roland Garros and the 1999 Australian Open, reaching the world No. 1 ranking in '99. With his clean groundstrokes and all-court game, he had the physical talent to be the best.

Mentally, though, there were gaps: He seemed incapable of beating certain players. With the likes of Pete Sampras (2-11) and Andre Agassi (4-8) such shortcomings could be expected. With players like Hrbaty (4-9) and Johansson (5-9) it was harder to understand.

Together, they topped the Russian at five Grand Slam events, two Davis Cup ties and two Masters Series events (YK is probably the most accomplished player to have never won a Masters shield). Why fellow baseliners of lesser game and lesser achievement should so consistently top the Russian is hard to say.

The best answer came from Johansson, who once said: "(Kafelnikov's) serve is easy for me." At least Johansson eventually won a major; Hrbaty, with his stiff, awkward strokes was hardly ever a threat to do so.

The Russian had some success against these two later in his career, but still lost his last three against the Slovak and eight of his last nine against the Swede.

Bane Status: Unsolved

Andre Agassi vs. Karol Kucera

Kucera (or Double-K, as we like to call him) got his highest-profile win over Sampras in the 1998 Australian Open quarters. This was his only win against The Pistol in eight meetings, though; his most consistent success came against Double-A -- Agassi.

He first beat the American legend at the 1998 U.S. Open, as Agassi was climbing back from his career nadir of '97. Then in 2000, he ended Double-A's streak of four straight major finals by topping him in the second round of Roland Garros.

With his speed, metronomic groundies and surprisingly big first serve, Double-K was a poor man's Bjorn Borg (Double-B? Nah, doesn't have the same ring to it).

He topped Double-A four of seven times, including their last meeting in 2002. The really bizarre thing? Double-K won a total of six career titles, exactly one-tenth as many as Agassi.

Bane Status: Unsolved

Marat Safin v. Fabrice Santoro

Call this Becker vs. Gilbert, pt. 2.

The name "Safin" conjures the image of stoutness of heart and body, whereas "Santoro" suggests a wizened master of the mystic arts. This has been an accurate description of their matches, too, as the towering Russian has seemingly sought to hit a target that keeps disappearing.

Even since before Safin's maiden Grand Slam title, he has struggled with the crafty Frenchman's underspun and underpaced shots, and little has changed over the years.

When Safin was peaking in 2000-01, Santoro remained his greatest ordeal, beating him at the Masters event in Cincinnati, the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the 2001 Roland Garros.

Unlike Becker, on-court maturation never took place for Safin, who has lost seven of nine meetings with the junkballer, despite winning more than twice as many titles and a fourth more prize money.

Safin won their last encounter in 2005, but perhaps only because Santoro withdrew due to injury.

Bane Status: Unsolved

Lleyton Hewitt vs. Carlos Moya

At his peak in 2002, Lleyton Hewitt had a good record against practically everyone: from luminaries like Sampras and Agassi, to contemporaries like Safin and Tommy Haas, to up-and-comers like Andy Roddick and Roger Federer.

The only player who consistently gave him fits was the Spaniard Moya. At one point in '02 Moya reeled off four wins in a row against the top-ranked Aussie, twice each on hard and clay. As game a competitor as Hewitt was, his 5'11 frame struggled to counter Moya's hard, high-kicking forehand.

Hewitt finally cut the Moyan knot at the 2002 World Team Cup, on clay of all places. Since then, he's reeled off five in a row against the Spaniard, six if you count Sydney 2004, where Moya withdrew injured.

Unfortunately for the Australian, solving Moya coincided with the rise other threats, chief among them being Federer.

Bane Status: Solved

Roger Federer vs. David Nalbandian

Once upon a time, there was a young prodigy named Federer whose every movement on the tennis court shimmered with talent and promise. His problem was that less flashy opponents opponents kept outfoxing him on court.

Before he reached No. 1, he struggled against Hewitt, against Agassi and against Juan Carlos Ferrero. Perhaps his greatest obstacle, and certainly his most perplexing, was the Argentine Nalbandian. Unlike the others, Nalbandian had not, nor has he ever won a Grand Slam title, and yet he won his first five pro meetings with the great Swiss.

Much of it was due to his return of serve: To date no one has had the same degree of success returning serves against the Federer. Besides that, Nalbandian had a knack for outlasting opponents from the backcourt and passing them at net.

Only when Federer became as consistent a groundstroker as Nalbandian was he able to overcome him, and that's certainly what he's done. Since his first win at the end of 2003, he's turned his 0-5 record into a 10-8 advantage, leaving the Argentine in the dust (or perhaps the red clay).

Bane Status: Solved

Andy Roddick vs. Tommy Haas

Roddick has won more than double the career titles of the German Haas, has a major title to his credit and finished the year No. 1 in 2003 (Haas' highest ranking was No. 2, held throughout much of 2002, and he has not even been to a major final).

That said, Haas 7-4 career edge over the American is an unusual case that may actually reflect which of the two is more talented. Haas has plagued Roddick ever since the early part of this decade, when the German was the top 10 player and the American the greenhorn.

Since Roddick reached the game's elite in 2003, they've split their matches at four wins a piece. Much like with Krajicek-Sampras, Haas seems most likely to turn on his natural, all-court game when the American is across the net.

Roddick prevailed in their most recent meeting in this year's San Jose event, however, so maybe he's found the antidote.

Bane Status: Uncertain.

Rafael Nadal vs. James Blake/Thomas Berdych

Though he's recently become a much more well-rounded player, it's hardly a secret that the game's current No. 1 is most vulnerable on hard courts. Before he'd won a major off of clay, the two Bs did the most to frustrate him on cement.

Berdych, at 6'5, is less bothered by the lofty jump Nadal's groundstrokes take after bouncing, and his massive forehand can keep the Spaniard on defensive. Blake's explosive forehand requires little backswing, and the streaky nature of his game plan denies Nadal the rhythm he needs to play consistently.

Between them, Blake and Berdych won six of seven matches against the Spaniard through 2006, with Berdych suffering the only loss on clay.

Recently, though, the rapidly evolving Spaniard has turned a corner, and his success against the two Bs symbolizes his larger commitment to greatness. He's now won three in a row against Berdych without losing a set, and he gutted out two three-set wins against Blake in back-to-back events last year.

Like with Federer, countering the player(s) who most baffle(s) him has been the key to Nadal's ascent.

Bane Status: Solved

Conclusion: The Bane or the Best?

Is Rafael Nadal Roger Federer's bane? In many respects it's unfair to label Nadal as such; he's carved out an enormously successful career in his own right, and not often enough is it asked what Nadal might have accomplished had Federer not been active in this time period, rather than the reverse.

Still, had you asked that question before 2008, many would've answered an emphatic "Yes!" Only Nadal stood in the way of Federer's winning the calendar Grand Slam (a couple of times over) and taking the only major missing from his resume. Today, despite a 6-13 career record against the Spaniard, Federer leads with 13 majors to "only" six for Nadal.

At 22, however, Nadal is considerably younger than the 27-year-old Federer, and has put up considerably more victories than the Swiss had at the same age. It is highly doubtful that the gas-guzzling Nadal can continue winning as late in his career, but can he overtake him in terms of the number of majors won?

We doubt it. His knee is perpetually hurting and he's still rather far behind.

The question then becomes: Can Federer overcome the problems Nadal poses for him, at least long enough to break the all-time Grand Slam record?

Furthermore, are the lessons of other champions who solved their personal banes of any use to Federer in his quest?

Time will tell. Until then, this solution to the problem that Nadal presents for him has not been found.