Invincible Nadal makes it four in a row

Rafael Nadal made it four French Open titles in a row and emulated Bjorn Borg's record of 28 consecutive wins at Roland Garros with a commanding 6-1 6-3 6-0 victory over Roger Federer in the final. Nadal did what he did throughout the tournament, playing virtually faultless tennis. Federer was faced with the same dilemma as all of the world No2’s opponents these past two weeks – defend and be ground down or attack and run the risk of being passed, passed and passed again. The Swiss No1 seed tried both tactics and neither paid off. Before the match, history was beckoning. Nadal was aiming for his fourth consecutive title in Paris, under the watchful eye of Borg who was the only man to have managed the same feat. He was the hot favourite to win, Federer only once having defeated his great rival in nine meetings on clay. The Spaniard had triumphed over the world No1 in their last three meetings at Roland Garros – each time in four sets and twice in the final. Most of the lucky 14,000 spectators on Philippe Chatrier court were hoping to witness history of another kind, with Federer looking to become only the sixth player of all time to win all four Grand Slam tournaments and the only player apart from Andre Agassi to win them on four different surfaces. And if Federer could finally defeat the undisputed king of clay, he would undoubtedly be considered the greatest player of all time. And so the match began after a ceremony celebrating the 80th anniversary of the stadium including a parade of former champions including Borg, Wilander, Nastase, Santana, Vilas and of course Yannick Noah who received the loudest round of applause. Then Federer and Nadal were introduced each receiving equally loud cheers from the crowd. However, the spectators quickly decided that they were on the Swiss player’s side, not out of affection but in an effort to prolong the suspense. Nadal quickly took the lead, breaking Federer in the opening game thanks to three errors on the Swiss player’s forehand. At 2-1 Nadal suddenly swept through the next 26 points, winning 23. At 6-1, 2-0 it already looked like a massacre. Nadal was unstoppable, firing forehands, seeing every ball and chasing down everything. Federer was being completely outplayed. Neither his serve nor his forehand were hurting Nadal and he seemed to have no idea as to how to react – he was simply being outclassed. One chance for Federer With the public cheering him on, Federer finally awoke from his slumber. A cross-court backhand on the line followed by a devastating forehand saw him break back at 2-1 and hold to level at 2-2. But winning one point would not win him the tournament. To do that, he would have to perform a miracle as Nadal was playing at an unbelievable level. The Spaniard was not missing any returns, forehands, backhands or passing shots. In the entire match he committed a paltry seven unforced errors. At one point in the match – just one – there was a moment of suspense. At 3-3 in the second set the world No1 fought tooth and nail against the Spanish onslaught and finally managed to secure a break point on Nadal’s serve. Chants of “Roger, Roger,” filled Philippe Chatrier court, but a Nadal drop shot forced the backhand error from Federer to wipe out his advantage. Although it was not yet clear, the match was already over. Federer’s one slim chance had passed and, in the next game, Nadal took the Swiss player’s serve on his fourth break point with an almost relaxed-looking backhand. 5-3 became 6-3 and the scoreboard read two sets to love after one hour and twenty two minutes of play. The twelve-time Grand Slam champion was drowning… Better than Gottfried, but only just Sickened by his own poor level of play and disgusted by that of Nadal, the agony would be brief for the world’s best player in the third set. The atmosphere in the stadium was almost one of embarrassment, with the former champions sitting in the presidential box looking shocked in front of such an unbelievable spectacle. Federer had never seemed so lost, and his unforced errors mounted up as Nadal clocked up more and more points. The Spaniard, however, did not show any mercy. He stuck the knife in, delighting the crowd with some of his famed whipped forehands. A final unforced error from Federer – his 35th – put an end to contest that never was. Rafa meanwhile remained subdued in victory, simply raising his hands to the sky and smiling with satisfaction. 6-1 6-3 6-0 in 1 hour 48 minutes- the fewest number of games lost by a champion since Guillermo Vilas beat Brian Gottfried 6-0 6-3 6-0 in 1977. Federer looked almost bewildered as he sat down at the end of the match, having lost a set to love for the first time since Queen’s in 1999. In his speech to the crowd he even said “Yes, it’s me,” as if there had been some doubt. Speaking later on television, Nadal was generous about his rival. “I’m very happy, but I’m also disappointed for Roger. It’s wonderful what he’s done for tennis.” It is also wonderful what the Spaniard has done for tennis. Rarely in the history of the French Open has a player appeared so invincible. Of course, there was Borg, who was on hand to present the Coupe des Mousquetaires to the victor in what could be called a changing of the guard.