The French Love Affair
The French Open is my favourite grand slam ahead of Wimbledon - the battles fascinate me more than the quick matches we see on grass. This year though, the football and NBA has meant I haven’t been able to talk much on the French Open.
On the women’s side, the stories so far have seen Hingis outsed by Clijsters - showing she has a lot of work still left to do in her tryst with destiny. The biggest story has been Nicole Vaidisova though. Is she the next big thing in women’s tennis? Defeating Amelie Mauresmo and then striding over Venus Williams is no mean thing. The last four sees Vaidisova face the real test when she faces Svetlana Kuznetsova - the in form player at the moment and likely to go through to the finals. The other semi has another Belgian battle between Clijsters and Henine-Hardenne. It is a match for which no one seems to have any clue about who will advance - the ingredient which makes Clijsters-Henine encounters exciting prospects.
The big action is happening in the men’s side though. The top 4 seeds have all reached the semis. When you consider the history of players from no where reaching the last 4 - be it Michael Change, Thomas Muster or Gustavo Kuerten, it is amazing to have the four best players on paper coming to the party. More importantly, Nadal and Federer look all set for the show down of the clay court season. Before that, Federer has to defeat a challenging David Nalbandian, one of the best clay court players in his own right.
Nadal faces an easier challenge against Croat Ivan Ljubičić. Ljubičić has overcome Julien Benneteau, the first local hero to reach the last eight since Sebastian Grosjean in 2001. Can the out of the norm Ljubičić cause Nadal trouble? Maybe, though I seriously doubt the Nadal winning streak will be halted in the semis. There is the greater possibility of Nalbandian playing the spoil sport and depriving us of the match we have been waiting for from the moment the clay court season started. Nalbandian fans aside, every one will be hoping that does not happen.
The clay court detractors should start watching now and experience for themselves why clay court tennis is enrossing like nothing else in tennis. If you cannot watch and still want to have fun, you can always listen to the live commentary at the official French Open site. The guys there are hilarious. For example, at the break between games, one of the commentators started singing the fool on the hill by The Beatles. On a serious note, when was the last time in men’s tennis two players battled like Federer and Nadal have this clay court season?
We have seen the Graf-Seles finals where it was certain the two would face each other in the tournaments they were taking part in. In phases, we have seen Agassi-Sampras beat the competition. When have two players faced each other final after final in the tournament they took part in over a season or specifically a clay court season? Who knows what the future will hold for these two. Regardless, it has been a memorable season and the next few days promise much more.
Tags: Clay, French Open 2006, Nadal vs Federer, Nicole Vaidisova, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer.
