Roger and Rafa

Okay, I’ll admit it upfront – I’m a Rafael Nadal Kool-Aid drinker. That was probably obvious from my Vamos Rafael piece from last fall, but I thought it was important to disclose that fact especially in light of what transpired in Dubai today. In his first final of 2006, and in only his second event since returning from a foot injury, Nadal defeated world number 1, Roger Federer, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a spectacular final.

With the win, Rafa takes his career head-to-head record with Federer to 3-1, two of the victories coming on hard courts. Today’s match started off with a quick start from Federer as he played brilliant tennis to take the first set 6-2, but Nadal started to get some rhythm in the second set and he broke Federer at love at 4-all which allowed him to serve out the set. The third set was filled with drama as both players were pummeling shots like heavyweight boxers throw punches. The key point of the match came at 30-all, 4-all in the third on Federer’s serve. Roger missed his first serve and was forced to hit a second; Nadal seized the moment and stepped inside the baseline to hit an inside-out forehand winner to take him to break point. Federer was clearly caught off-guard by Nadal’s move inside the baseline on the return as Rafa normally receives serve from an extremely deep position. On break point, Federer made a quick error to lose the game and subsequently, the match.

Although Federer has to be disappointed with the result of today’s final and the end of his 56 match win streak on hard courts, he now has someone on the tour to challenge his dominance over the tour and that should serve as some extra motivation as the 2006 season unfolds. A Federer-Nadal rivalry will be great for tennis. That duo may not be super appealing to Americans, it has a ton of international appeal with both players having legions of fans. Few of the other players on tour have consistently challenged Federer over the last few years in the way Nadal has. The contrast in styles makes for intriguing tennis with Federer’s smooth attacking game competing against Nadal’s grinding, punishing groundstrokes.

With both players solidly entrenched in their positions as 1 and 2 in the world, tennis fans can hopefully look forward to several important finals between these two great athletes in the coming months. Can this rivalry reach the excitement level of the one that Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi shared? It would be great for tennis if it could, especially since Andre Agassi, one of the game’s most popular players, is nearing the end of his career. The sport needs something that fans can be excited about and although Federer’s dominance of the sport is certainly historic and intriguing, the challenge of a strong rival to the world’s most dominant player will provide far more drama. Whether this new rivalry will have the longevity of Pete and Andre is unclear as both players have had various injuries in their careers and Nadal strikes me as the Earl Campbell of tennis. He put a lot of miles on his body in 2005 on his way to 11 tour titles, including a 5 hour, 14 minute final victory in the Italian Open. His game is so physical and so grinding that you have to wonder how long he can keep it up. At 19 years old, tennis fans have to hope that he, and Roger, will be around for a long time.