akosiallan

Rafael Nadal made history by being the first man to win four consecutive French Open titles since Borg did it in 1978-81.  He dominated the world number 1 Federer, 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 displaying both accuracy in his backhand and unrelentless forehand strokes. 

Federer showed a little resistance midway through the second set, mainly by creating extra ordinary shots on the side line.  His volleys created some opportunities for him as he leveled the set 3-3. 

Nadal, however, was undeterred.  He made Federer’s volleys futile by delivering brilliant passing shots down the line, forcing Federer to just stand in awe in the middle of the court. 

In the end, Nadal’s clay court play making proved too much for Federer.  He completely anihilated the world number 1 by breaking him on the first game of the third set and never looked back.  He finished the match at 6-0, a show of total supremacy at the Roland Garros clay courts. 

Perhaps it will be another story for Federer next year…but until then this one is Nadal’s. 

Tomorrow’s French Open Final is history in the making.  It’s the third consecutive French Open Finals appearance of the world number 1 Federer against his nemesis, world number 2, Nadal. 

Nadal displayed a very strong performance yesterday, beating Djokovic 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (3) .  The dominant Spaniard holds a very clean 27-0 record at the Roland Garros tournament.  He overcame a late surge by the Serbian to move on to the Finals.  A win by Nadal tomorrow will make him the first man to win four consecutive French Open titles in a row since Bjorn Borg did it in 1978 to 1981.

Federer, in contrast, struggled throughout the semi-final match against the world ranked  number 59 Monfils.  Federer jumped on Monfils’ early jitters and relied on his experience to take the first set 6-2.  Monfils, the lone French man left standing in the Roland Garros tournament, came out firing in the second set.  With the full French crowd behind him, Monfils displayed a very strong defense, running around the court and delivering very accurate shots down the line against the suddenly inconsistent Federer.  Monfils took the second set 7-5 to level up the match at one all to the delight of the crowd.  In the third set, Federer got his swagger back by being more aggressive on the net.  Monfils, could not sustain his intensity from the second set as Federer dominated the third set 6-3.  The fourth set was very tight with Federer saving breakpoints from the French man at 1-1, 2-2, and 3-3.  Federer also displayed incosistency by missing some volleys to let the French man get even at 5-5 during the set.  Federer then held on with his mental tenacity, capturing the match at 7-5 on the fourth set, displaying a sign of a relief at the end. 

Tomorrow’s French Open Final is history in the making.  Will Nadal continue his dominance against the world number 1 Federer in the Roland Garros tournament?  Will he continue to make history in the French Open? Will Nadal’s superb clay-court performance hold off the hungry and magnificent strokes of Federer?  Will Federer finally get the elusive title this time?  Will his improved clay court play finally enable him to beat Nadal? 

I love watching sports.  I’ve just watched Roger Federer beat Gonzalez in four sets in the 2008 French Open quarterfinals.  Federer advances to the semi-final to meet up Monfils of France.  If he can maintain his superb play in the semi-finals, it could be a history in the making for this 2008 French Open.

The world number 1 Roger Federer, considered to be one of the greatest tennis players of all time, is playing in the only grand slam tournament that he has not yet captured the title.  With 12 grand slam titles on his name, he is only 2 titles behind Pete Sampras’ all time high record of 14 grand slams.  But with all those grand slams, only 1 title has eluded him thus far.  The French Open.  The only tournament where he has not been the dominant player.  The only blemish to his very clean record.

Is this the year for Roger Federer?  Will he survive the onslaught of Nadal or Jokovic in the Finals?  Will he finally get the crown that has eluded him all these years?  Is it finally time?