Mark Petchey Simply the best
Published on: 28th April, 2009
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The Masters Tour rolls into Rome this week and there’s only one man in the frame to take the crown this year – Rafael Nadal.
As ever the Spaniard is the one to beat and after his fifth consecutive win in Barcelona last week (following his fifth consecutive win at the Monte Carlo Masters) he is continuing to build that aura of invincibility about him.
It is very difficult to see past him on any clay court because he is winning so comfortably at the moment – he’s not even getting tired!
He lost in the second round in Rome last year against Juan Carlos Ferrero but that was mainly down to severe foot blisters – it will need something like that to happen again or someone to play out of their skin if he is to be beaten this time around.
He played well again last week in Barcelona. Despite having a tough semi final against Nikolay Davydenko and a tough final against David Ferrer he still came through in two sets. People have played well against him and he’s still taking care of them comfortably.
There will be few players relishing the prospect of facing Rafa on clay – though both Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic who gave him a tough test in Monte Carlo will be looking forward to having another crack at him.
Almost unbeatable
There are a number of factors which combine to make him almost unbeatable on clay. He is the best mover on the court, he has the benefit of previously being a right hander so his back hand is as good as his forehand, he can play the drop shot off either his forehand or backhand, his serve is good and he also finishes at the net as well now – there’s not even the option of bringing him in.
It’s very difficult to know what he’s going to throw at you – not only has he got the best defence in the world but he can also attack you. His ability to play each point the same is also incredible. He can play the worst point in the world and then play the best point straight after.
Djokovic
I think reigning champion Novak Djokovic will put up a good defence of his crown but Rafa is easily favourite.
Novak was very good in Monte Carlo. He wasn’t that convincing when he got to the final in Miami but for the first time in Monte Carlo he looked really comfortable on clay.
He also has the added motivation of defending his number three spot. Andy’s threat has given him extra motivation in training and he came out fresh and hungry in Monte Carlo – which bodes well for the rest of the clay court season.
Winning habit
Meanwhile, Roger Federer has opted to prepare for Rome by retreating away from the limelight to spend a week training in Italy.
There are two schools of thought on this subject and I wouldn’t want to be one to say Roger has made a bad decision but I think it would have been more beneficial for him to have played a tournament.
To get back into the winning habit would have been more beneficial for him than more training in my personal opinion – but then who am I to second guess essentially the greatest player of all time.
We’ll see how it pans out this week, and hopefully he will be involved at the business end of the week in Rome, but I do think there comes a time when you need to play and need to regain the confidence in your forehand or winning breakpoints. There are lots of drills you can do but you can’t recreate a match situation.
It’s interesting that it is now Nadal – not Federer – who has the air of invincibility around them. Quite a large part of that is in the opponent’s mind. Players don’t feel like they’ve already lost when they come onto court against Roger now. He has been beaten enough times for them to know it is possible to cause an upset.
Self doubts creep into his own mind as well. That is inevitable; it is part of being a human. It’s only natural, when you’re not playing well, to lose the 100 per cent self-belief you when you’re going to make a tough forehand.
Murray
Conversely, Murray is on a real high at the moment. He reached his first-ever clay court semi final in Monte Carlo and he has certainly found a way to play on the surface.
I’m not sure he is completely certain this is definitely how he wants to play on clay – he’s still a work in progress – and I’m not sure this will be his best year on clay either.
But given the fact he hadn’t played on it for a year he did tremendously well in Monte Carlo and there were some good signs in the way he played, especially against Rafa.
It’s a huge motivation for him that he could be ranked third in the world by the end of the week – Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski only made it to four.
Other players to watch this week will be the guys who did well last year. You always feel good when you come back to a happy hunting ground so the likes of Stanislas Wawrinka, who lost in last year’s final, and Radek Stepaneck could do well.
Wawrinka is looking good. He took time off after the Australian Open and that is really paying dividends.
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