Nadal is unchallenged as king of clay courts

It’s the unquenchable thirst for success and an inexhaustible stamina that has made Rafael Nadal into the champion that he is. The Majorcan hits the tennis ball with a vengeance and reaches corners of the tennis court that the other players can only dream of. The number one player on the men’s circuit has a ruthless game combined with unmatchable power that he uses to stave off any challenge that comes his way. With the second Grand Slam ready to take off soon, Rafa is all set to produce yet another scintillating run of form at the Roland Garros.

Nadal has already made a rousing start to this year’s clay court season. The Spaniard’s 30th consecutive win on clay came at the recently concluded Rome masters, where Nadal won his fourth title in five years. Earlier, Rafa ticked off his fifth uninterrupted victory in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in the same number of years.

The win in the final of the Rome Masters was a hard-fought victory against the Serbian Novak Djokovic, but in the end the matador from Mallorca prevailed. This victory at the Foro Italico registered Nadal’s 147th win on the crushed brick along with four losses, since 2005. Till now Rafael Nadal has brought home 25 ATP title on the clay court and looks good to beat Guillermo Vilas’ Open Era record of 45 wins on the same surface. Rafa is the uncrowned king of clay, but in the year gone by he has churned out triumphs on other surfaces too.

Year 2008 can be reflected upon as a point of inflection in Rafa’s career. Last year, he won the French open for the fourth time, but more importantly, Nadal also prospered on the grassy courts of the All England Tennis Club. The 2008 Wimbledon finals saw Rafa-Fedex rivalry re-ignited. The tussle between the two greats was uplifted to a new level. In a marathon final that lasted up to 4hours and 48 minutes, Rafa for the first time in his career got the better of Roger Federer on grass. In failing light Rafael Nadal put up a spectacular show and lifted the Wimbledon crown. The win proved to be a landmark one in his career. All the calls of him being just a clay-court specialist were put to rest by this amazing victory. Officially, Roger Federer was still the number one in the rankings, but even the Swiss master knew that his territory had been encroached upon.