French Open 2012 Scores: Rafael Nadal's Dominance Has Him Set Up for Repeat
Rafael Nadal's seventh French Open title is in the bag.
He has had little to no difficulty dispatching opponents in the 2012 French Open, and his quick work will ensure he is fresher than his remaining foes. Rafa is the only player remaining that hasn't dropped a set, as both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic (both endured five-set matches to reach semi-finals) have been pushed to the brink to stay alive.
Fellow Spaniard David Ferrer dropped his first set in the quarterfinals against Andy Murray before winning the next two. He is now the next helpless player on the Nadal chopping block.
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Amidst Nadal's dominance and Federer and Djokovic's struggles, Ferrer's solid play has flown under the radar. He'll take center stage when he battles friend and countryman Nadal for the right to play in the French Open final.
Though his match against Murray only threw him slightly off his straight-sets track, the fact still remains; Nadal is just flat better than Ferrer.
The numbers don't lie: Nadal owns a 16-4 advantage over Ferrer lifetime. He has only lost to him once on clay and that was nearly eight years ago at the Mercedes Cup. Nadal was only 18 years old and nowhere near the clay-court maestro he is now. Despite Nadal's mastery of Ferrer, in this interview Ferrer talks about how to beat Nadal:
It will be Nadal's toughest match to this point, but he will ultimately vanquish Ferrer as well.
In the final, he'll be playing either Federer or Djokovic. This could be an easier match for Nadal than the Ferrer matchup. It's not because Ferrer is superior, but because both Federer and Djokovic have had to work so hard just to make the semi-finals.
They will presumably beat up on each other in their matchup as well. After another grueling and emotion victory, I don't believe the winner will have the stamina to pull the upset over Nadal.
They would both be underdogs even if they had dominated up to this point and were fresh.
Throw in the the aspect of fatigue and Nadal is unstoppable this year at Roland Garros. The race is for second place at this point.
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