Rafael Nadal: The Relentless Clay Courter

Right up until mid-2008, Rafael Nadal was just this young Spanish kid who, for a few months in the middle of the year, would become a nuisance to Roger Federer and his inevitable march to the title of every tournament he bothered to play in.

Three years later, he’s being touted as the potential successor to Roger and the greatest player of all time. When he won the 2010 US Open, many believed he had already overtaken the Swiss maestro, claiming the mantle for himself. How had (let’s face it) a mere clay-courter achieved all this?

I’ve never seen as much disregard for a World No. 2 as I did for Rafael Nadal from July 2005 until the day he became the Wimbledon champion in 2008.  Indeed, other than the clay-court swing each year, people seemed to forget who he was. And in a way, who can blame them?

In tennis history there exists no such phenomena as the years from 2004-2007. That period of time is called the Roger Federer Era. Federer used to stroll through tournaments with frightening ease and divine efficiency, and the fellow on the other side of the net was often irrelevant. It was all down to what Federer could do, because if he was playing at even a fraction of the level he could reach, his opponent might as well not bother turning up at all.

How, then, was young Rafa supposed to make his mark on the tour? Sweeping the clay court season each year didn’t help, it only enhanced his reputation as a dirt rat. He did make it to the Wimbledon final in 2006, but was blown away by Federer. And, frankly, up until 2008 he was an average hard-courter, nothing more. The only reason he managed to get as far as the quarters of hard court Slams was because he had easier draws, due to his No. 2 ranking. The fact that Nadal has never successfully defended a title that he won on any surface other than clay is concrete proof of that.

Nadal was a born clay courter, and that was all he was ever going to be. However, he did realize that even during Federer’s invincible years, Nadal had a winning record against his nemesis. Federer’s single handed backhand, believed to otherwise be a deadly shot, played into Nadal’s hands with the vicious topspin that the left-hander put on the ball, persistently pounding at the Swiss master’s backhand.

And tenacity and hard work came naturally to the Mallorcan. If Federer was the elegant wizard who bedazzled opponents with swashbuckling efficiency, Nadal was the brute force that relentlessly chipped away at his aura, ultimately bringing it down with a fearful crash.

After the Wimbledon final in ’08, Nadal soared into tennis greatness. He is the owner of a career Grand Slam, but arguably the least versatile of the seven players who lay claim to it. His game inherently has no place on the hard courts, but his robotic endeavours have helped him succeed. He is still a clay courter, but come on, that’s not an insult. Aren’t his feats all the more impressive for it?