Rafael Nadal and the Americans: Top Headlines Heading onto Clay

Often headlines are about questionable situations, and that's perhaps so very evident in regards to sports headlines.

For this one, however, it is worrisome to find Rafael Nadal's name in this company—maybe not so much for American players. Yet, they're there for different reasons, deserving to be questioned.

What has transpired on the courts of the ATP in the last four months has been, as it usually is nowadays, majestic.

As it happens in tennis, matches make moments, and Novak Djokovic certainly dropped a statement when he won the Miami Masters to quell any suggestion of Roger Federer's resurgence, or indeed, of any imminent threat Andy Murray might pose to his reign any time soon.

Rafael Nadal, however, warranted the notable absence, because he simply didn't quite measure up to the challenge at Miami which many thought he might. Mind you, he didn't actually lose, he was forced to withdraw due to recurring knee pain—a problem which has plagued his game for some years now.

In not facing Novak Djokovic in the final, however, as he was seeded to do, he raised eyebrows. Is the Spaniard not even game enough or physically capable to even consider the possibility of beating Andy Murray and then Novak Djokovic on a tennis court?

Miami has left Rafa seated at No. 2 with something to prove, although it isn't as if he has had to. He played hard at the Australian Open, and barring his knee pain, would have done so at Miami.

He gets a great opportunity next week with Monte Carlo starting up the clay season, as it traditionally does.

While Nadal is the seven-time defending champ, there are many troublesome ripples to be found in a brewing tennis tsunami in 2012.

With Djokovic playing for his career Grand Slam in a few weeks, and Nadal nearly invincible at this tournament, an epic clash between the two here (which Nadal narrowly won the last time it happened) in the final might set the tone for a historic and epic clay and grass season the likes of which we haven't even so much as scented since 2008.

Then, there are the Americans. Traditionally, clay has been the location for the weakest showing in American tennis, but the performances from both the ATP and WTA reveal positive signals—one hopes they don't die down as quickly as they came up.

There's the mighty Davis Cup hero and U.S. vanguardsman John Isner, who led Team USA to victory over France last weekend and has posted wins over Federer (on clay) and a final showing at Indian Wells against Djokovic.

He was the only man to push Rafael Nadal to five sets at the French Open last year, and with his big, very American, outspoken brand of tennis, is the best hope, in practice and on paper, on the men's side.

We can't forget Andy Roddick, of course, who in a remarkable, career, twilight moment defeated old rival Federer at Miami and who had a resurgence of his own on clay some three years ago. Don't count out greatness when it comes to the surprising veteran.

As for the women, it's the turn, yet again, for Serena Williams to take the helm of hope for American tennis. Yet again, coming back from almost nothing, she won Charleston last week—in a typically dominant fashion that can only be described as idiosyncratic.

For the "nth" time, Serena proved her simple, innate dominance and superiority over almost any other women's tennis player. She exudes it, and while her record on clay in recent years (until last week happened) hasn't been terrific, she is that enigmatic ubiquity of American hope.

One might add the world No. 2 Maria Sharapova to the mix, who speaks pretty much like an American anyway and was trained in the U.S.

She has featured in three finals in 2012, and while losing all three, Sharapova poses a big game and even bigger possibilities.

This year, she joins Novak Djokovic in the quest for the career Grand Slam at the French Open.

So there we have Rafael Nadal and a host of top American players vying for attention, for good and bad reasons, on the eve of the 2012 clay season.

Is the "King of Clay" in doubt on his favourite surface, and are Americans genuine threats on their slow kryptonite at last?

Sometimes, it's remarkable how tennis conversations turn out.