Men's singles - preview

by Paul Myers

Article published on the 2008-05-22 Latest update 2008-05-25 19:46 TU

Roger Federer has set a plethora of records in his career. Five consecutive Wimbledons equals the exploits of Sweden's Bjorn Borg at the end of the 1970s. There are four straight US Open titles and, at 225 weeks and counting, one of the longest uninterrupted streaks as world number one during which he has harvested eleven of his 12 grand slams. But the pot that eludes him is la Coupe des Mousquetaires. With that in his hands he would add another chapter to the legend by joining five other players to win at the four majors of Wimbledon, the Australian, French and US Opens.

The triumph of the American Andre Agassi in 1999 at Roland Garros saw him become the last player to join Rod Laver, Fred Perry, Roy Emerson and Don Budge in the career grand slam gang. Agassi's compatriot Pete Sampras won a record fourteen grand slams before he retired in 2002. Paris was never a happy hunting ground for him. Federer is tipped to surpass the American's achievement but will he too suffer the Sampras syndome? And the problem this year is that Federer has seemed disturbingly mortal. Defeats to journeymen soil his path.
 
Eyebrows were raised at the turn of the year when he only reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open, losing to eventual winner Novak Djokovic. He was diagnosed with mononucleosis just after the season’s first grand slam event and his performances since have been inconsistent. There’s been a return to a level near his habitual hemisphere of excellence but the clay court season has seen him unhinged yet again by the world number two Rafael Nadal, one of the few left-handers on the ATP tour.
 
The Spaniard beat him in the final of Monte Carlo 7-5 7-5, that after trailing 4-0 in the second set. Worse was to follow in the Hamburg Masters where Federer served for the first set at 5-1 and 5-3 only to lose it 7-5. A second set fightback maintained his dignity but he wilted in the decider. Nadal it is who heads into Roland Garros with his clay court aura intact after taking titles in Barcelona, Monte Carlo and latterly in Hamburg. There have been only two defeats in 110 matches.
 
And that statistic will cast a huge shadow over the tournament. Federer may be top dog but Nadal is the man to beat.
 
Winner of the title for the past three years, there seems to be an imperceptible deal between the 21-year-old and the Parisian clay that renders him sacrosanct. However neither of the world’s top two will want Djokovic in their half of the draw. Since last year at Roland Garros he has been revelling in the role of the brash upstart poised to subvert the cosy duopoly. Until Djokovic won at the Australian Open in January, the grand slams since Marat Safin’s victory in 2005 in Australia had been all about Roger and Rafa, actually more Roger really.

And there's been a distinct air that, while neither Federer nor Nadal like to lose, they'd perfer it to be to each other. There's not the same sentiment when Djokovic is in town. Nadal could have lost his status as world number two had he succumbed to the Serb in the semi-finals at Hamburg. He repelled that attack but there’ll be another thrust in Paris. Djokovic has the height and the two-fisted backhand that can neutralise the wickedly high bounces generated by Nadal’s groundstrokes.
 
Federer - with his one handed backhand - has struggled to get over the ball and consistently control his shots off that wing. The Serb, by contrast, can use the two handed grip for a cross-court slashing riposte to force Nadal out wide on his forehand. There's also more chance of sending the ball down the line to Nadal's backhand.
 
Juan Carlos Ferrero at the Italian Open showed how the tactic could be employed to dismantle Nadal. Admittedly the world number two was suffering from blisters on his right foot that affected his movement but even before that became a factor, Ferrero a winner at Roland Garros in 2003, was defusing one of Nadal’s principal weapons.

Djokovic went on to conquer Rome and was his ever effervescent self afterwards. He said the win had disproved the critics who had proclaimed that he did not have the patience nor the technique to clinch an important tournament on clay. Humility in victory has yet to become a feature of Djokovic's repertoire. The stance adds an edge to the proceedings and if the 21-year-old were to hold the Coupe des Mousquetaires aloft in June, then Federer's chances of that career grand slam will diminish just a tiny bit more.