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Rarely has a male tennis player (Nadal) been so dominant in a Grand Slam tournament. Rarely has a # 1 seed (Federer), especially one who has been the top-ranked player in the world for so many consecutive weeks, gone down to such an ignominious drubbing. The reason? The unbeatable play of the energetic, intimidating, focused and tenacious Spaniard, Rafael Nadal. Not only was the crowd of 15,000 stunned, but the pro-Federer announcers were clearly tongue-tied as Nadal powered his serves by Federer, dropped easy lobs over his head, hit shots by him at the net and delivered shots of such pinpoint accuracy that one could wonder how Nadal's semifinal challenger, Djokavic could even win five games off Nadal in a single set. Nadal now has won four consecutive French Opens and, at age 22, looks like he could easily become the most dominant player on clay in history. Only Bjorn Borg has won more French Opens (6; 1974-75 and 1978-81). One only wonders why Nadal hasn't yet been able to perfect his play on other surfaces so that he can derail Federer from winning many (or any) more Grand Slam titles.

The Flow of the Match

Roger Federer has been a champion who has recently played with an urgency that one would associate with a man wanting to make sure his legacy is secure when he is about ready to retire. He lost in the semifinals at the Australian Open in January, but everyone knew he was ill with what would turn out to be mono. His 12 Grand Slam titles is now second to the 14 of Pete Sampras; he felt he was improving his clay court game so that he might launch not simply a credible challenge against Nadal but actually beat him. But the match didn't begin in a promising way. Federer's serve was quickly broken, and Nadal went out in front. Long-time watchers of Federer were not too worried, however. They have been used to the Swiss champion's first set foibles as he tries to feel out his opponent. But here there was something clearly different at work. Nadal was so accurate in his shots, so tenacious in playing each point as if it was match point, that one knew that Federer's back was already to the wall before the first set was half over. And the rest of the set confirmed this. At one point Nadal won 13/14 consecutive points in the first set. The announcers were trying to say that Federer didn't look "sharp," but what was really happening was that Nadal was coming of age in a remarkable way, just when people thought that he was at the top of his clay court game.

In the second set it looked as if Nadal was unstoppable. Federer looked confused and even a little winded. But then Federer, down at 2-0, unexpectedly broke Nadal's serve. For a moment he looked like himself, with the combination of strong and consistent volleying as he is "scoping out" the oppoinent's weakness so that he can deftly bury a shot deep in the corner or drop one just over the net. But then, after narrowing it to Nadal's 2-1 lead, Federer immediately dropped the first point of game 4. It was then that I knew it was over for Federer. Though he often has "put opponents away" in the past, he sometimes lacks the kind of instinct that capitalizes on an advantage that he obtains. Well, he eventually won his service to bring things to 2-2, but it was a struggle for him. His brilliant play only managed to eke out an equal exchange with Nadal over the next two games, but then the dam broke. Federer made too many unforced errors, Nadal hit pinpoint shots and persisted in rallies, and the match returned to Nadal's advantage. The end was in sight.

Nadal's Skills

Rafael Nadal's skills on clay are so daunting that it a full cataloguing wouldn't be very helpful here. The only one I would like to highlight in conclusion is his tenacity. It is in his tenaciousness that one can learn important lessons not simply about tennis play but about "life play." Or, perhaps one might say, it is the tenaciousness combined with a sense that each point is filled with such possibility and even danger that one has to exert all one's resources in order simply to meet the challenges before one. And, combined with this is also the sense that no point is ever lost. On more than one occasion, Nadal took Federer's best shots, shots that one would think would have discouraged any opponent, and returned them with finesse and skill that it left the champion as well as the rest of us gasping.

So, we saw near tennis-perfection today in Paris. We all return to our lives, amazed at Nadal's performance, and perhaps more committed to realize those goals that we have always wanted to realize. It takes courage, heart, hard work and tenacity. All of those things we saw on the court today. And, as I write this, we also see class in Federer who commended Nadal as he bravely has to endure the results of defeat before the media and the world. Most people have more experience being in Federer's position than Nadal's. So, we can learn from both, from Federer in how to lose with grace, and from Nadal, in what we need to expend in order some day to carry our own trophies proudly above our heads...

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