It is upon us. The first big battle of the clay court season. I had previewed the clay court season here. Over the last few days, Nadal and Federer have done away with the best of the rest in contemporary clay court tennis with considerable ease. Federer, after being stretched to three sets by Novak Djokovic, has lost just 16 games in 4 consequent rounds.

Nadal has been as dominant. Apart from the semi where Gaston Gaudio stretched Nadal to three sets, he has lost only 22 games in 4 matches. Nadal has a 3-1 lead over Federer in head-to-head. Also, a 1-0 in clay courtesy that semi-final Roland Garros triumph last year. Nadal has also handed Federer his only defeat of the season when he beat Federer 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Dubai, the only time they met this year.

The previous two encounters in Dubai and at Roland Garros have been tight and engaging. The one upon us promises to be one in possibly a series of superb battles between the two over their careers.

The clay court season has taken off from the sluggish first gear, if there ever exists one on clay. The serious business has already begun with the first two rounds Monte Carlo Masters tournament over.

Justin Gimelstob writes over at CNNSI:

This past week, a sport within a sport began: clay-court tennis. What is arguably tennis’ toughest season tipped off around the world with events in Houston and Valencia, Spain.

Clay surfaces offer totally different challenges than the hard-court tennis that dominates the early part of the ATP Tour calendar. Clay-court tennis hinges on movement, strategy and defense. Sliding effectively on clay is an art unto itself. It combines the artistic flare of ice skating with the athletic grace of a ballerina.

The season ends with the French Open, a title most clay court gladiators of Europe consider the ultimate prize in tennis over Wimbledon. Clay courts provide gruelling battles. You cannot win games on serves and volleys. The ball slows down considerably once it hits the surface. So you have to defeat the opponent despite the surface. In a Wimbledon, you would have to grass on surface aid you with bounce and pace after bouncing. On hard courts, you do not have the support of the surface. However, it doesn’t make you toil much more like clay does.

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