If Thou Thinketh Rafa Isn't the Best, Thou Doth Protest Too Much

Rafa Nadal is the best clay courter you or anyone has ever set their eyes upon in Paris, or anywhere else. And no flair-wielding Frenchmen can argue with that.



Nadal's 6-3/6-2/6-3 victory in the Roland Garros men's final over fellow Spaniard David Ferrer was as expected as it was routine, save for multiple off-court disturbances. In winning his eighth singles title in Paris, the twelfth slam crown of his career (now behind only Roger Federer and Pete Sampras), Rafa, 27, becomes the first man in the Open era to ever claim a single slam on eight different occasions, as well as the first player to four-peat twice at the same grand slam event.

The 31-year old Ferrer, in his forty-second grand slam, was playing in his first career slam final, as opposed to Nadal's record nine appearances in the RG final alone. Unlike Nadal, who'd dropped the opening set in both his first two matches in Paris (and nearly the first two vs. Daniel Brands in the 1st Round) and was forced to five sets in a classic four and a half hour semifinal by Novak Djokovic two days ago, Ferrer hadn't dropped a set over the past two weeks. Just last month, he'd come within two points of defeating Nadal in a QF match in Madrid. But Nadal's career 19-4 head-to-head edge, including a 16-1 mark on clay, was the more important pre-match stat. Of course, "Rafael Nadal in Paris" was really the ONLY stat that mattered... and it wasn't even a stat at all. Nothing against Ferrer, the sort of all-around hustling pro that every tennis fan should -- and seems to, really -- root for out of the goodness of their heart and the admiration of their soul, knew Rafa's semifinal against the Serbian-born #1 on Friday was the defacto final.

In a final played in a light rain throughout, and later under heavy security, Ferrer showed an ability to get an occasional break of his countryman's serve, pulling it off once in each of the three sets, but he was never able to use the moments to get any traction in the match. Nadal broke Ferrer's serve eight times on the afternoon, multiple times in every set. Nadal took the 1st at 6-3, then grabbed at 3-0 lead in the 2nd. From there, briefly, Ferrer's game picked up enough to make the match a truly enjoyable affair, no matter the score, as wonderful rallies served to pass the time while Nadal continued his inevitable march toward RG title #8. Games #4 through #6 of the 2nd set were arguably the most entertaining of the day, but then outside forces "conspired" to mar what might have been another hour or so of sporting camaraderie and athletic wonder in a match that otherwise was but a formality.

Late in the 2nd set, French protesters first interrupted play with shouting from the upper reaches of Chatrier court, then on the surface of play itself when a pair of males attempted to storm the court. Only one made it there, entering just behind Nadal's side of the changeover area with a lighted and smoking flair in his hand. With the memory of the Monica Seles stabbing still lingering twenty years after the fact, Nadal, standing the backcourt, raced away from the scene while security tackled and dragged the man away, then took nearly a minute to find a fire extinguisher to put out the smoking flair, as well as a burning towel that had caught fire on the ground just off the court. Both Nadal and Ferrer were unnerved by the incident, and their curious play immediately afterward showed it. Games were strewn with errors, both men quickly dropped serve, and the competitive flow that had picked up such steam earlier in the set was pretty much lost for the afternoon.

Nadal finished off the 2nd set, and the result of the 3rd, much like the match, was never really in doubt. But as the match wound to a close, the atmosphere was more tense than celebratory. After the interminable wait while the set was constructed for the post-match trophy presentation, even the appearance of "World's Fastest Man" Usain Bolt to present the Coupe des Mousquataires was a bit more subdued than might have otherwise been the case. But, still, nothing takes the glow off Nadal's accomplishments in Paris in this or over the past nine years. And, barring more difficulties with his knees, there's no reason to believe that Rafa won't push his RG title record well beyond the point of reach for any future clay court king (or queen) for many, many generations to come.

Meanwhile, after playing second fiddle to Nadal in Spanish tennis for his entire career, in an oddity of the rankings (and due to Rafa's seven-month injury-related absence), Ferrer will actually move ahead of his countryman in the rankings on Monday and into the #4 spot behind Djokovic, Federer and Murray. But with a 292-21 career record on clay, including a 59-1 mark at Roland Garros (where he's riding a 28-match win streak, three off his Open era RG record of 31 from 2005-09) and a 38-2 record on the surface, with seven titles and nine straight finals, this season alone, there is scant evidence that anyone has ever been as adept on clay as Nadal has, is and likely will continue to be.

Rafa and Roland Garros have forged a remarkable relationship over most of the last decade... and, at least at this moment in time, their bond seems as strong as ever.



=DAY 15 NOTES=
...wondering what's happened to Robin Soderling, the only man to ever beat Nadal at Roland Garros?

...in the Women's Doubles final, Hordettes Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina defeated defending champions Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in straight sets, preventing the Italian pair from winning a third straight slam title. It's Vesnina's first career slam crown, while Makarova won a Mixed title in Australia in 2012.

...the "ITF Circuit Player of the Week" is, wait for it... Andrea Petkovic. Yay! Petko won the $100K clay court challenger in Marseille, defeating Anabel Medina-Garrigues in the final after having gotten previous wins over the likes of Paula Ormaechea and Monica Puig. Meanwhile, the grass court season kicked off in Nottingham, where Petra Martic won the $75K event there with a win in the final over Karolina Pliskova.

...HUH?? FROM DAY 15:

-- how did A-Rad's tweener shot NOT make NBC's Top 10 Shots of the Tournament list? Schiavone's less-mesmerizing one did, though.

...and finally...



BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND (Int'l $235K/grass court)
12 Final: Oudin d. Jankovic
12 Doubles Final: Babos/Hsieh d. Huber/Raymond
13 Top Seeds: Flipkens/Makarova
=============================
=QF=
#18 Rybarikova d. Keys
#8 U.Radwanska d. Pironkova
#4 Paszek d. #6 Lisicki
#15 Schiavone d. Hantuchova
=SF=
#8 U.Radwanska d. #18 Rybarikova
#4 Paszek d. #15 Schiavone
=FINAL=
#8 U.Radwanska d. #4 Paszek

...uh-oh.


NUREMBERG, GERMANY (Int'l $235K/red clay outdoor)
12 Final (tournament in Barcelona): Errani d. Cibulkova
12 Doubles Final (Barc.): Errani/Vinci d. Pennetta/Schiavone
13 Top Seeds: Jankovic/Zakopalova
=============================
=SF=
#1/WC Jankovic d. WC Petkovic
#7 Halep d. #5 Safarova
=FINAL=
#1/WC Jankovic d. #7 Halep

...something for JJ's leftover troubles from the RG semifinal.



*WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#1 Serena Williams/USA def. #2 Maria Sharapova/RUS 6-4/6-4

*MEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#3 Rafael Nadal/ESP def. #4 David Ferrer/ESP 6-3/6-2/6-3

*WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#4 Makarova/Vesnina (RUS/RUS) def. #1 Errani/Vinci (ITA/ITA) 7-5/6-2
*MEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Bryan/Bryan (USA/USA) def. Llodra/Mahut (FRA/FRA) 6-4/4-6/7-6

*MIXED DOUBLES FINAL*
Hradecka/Cermak (CZE/CZE) def. #5 Mladenovic/Nestor (FRA/CAN) 1-6/6-4/10-6

*GIRLS SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Belinda Bencic/SUI def. #5 Antonia Lottner/GER 6-1/6-3

*BOYS SINGLES FINAL*
Christian Garin/CHI def. #14 Alexander Zverev/GER 6-4/6-1

*GIRLS DOUBLES FINAL*
#2 Krejcikova/Siniakova (CZE/CZE) def. D.Gonzalez/Haddad Maia (ECU/BRA) 7-5/6-2

*BOYS DOUBLES FINAL*
#3 Edmund/Ferreira Silva (GBR/POR) def. #5 Garin/Jarry (CHI/CHI) 6-3/6-3

*WC WOMEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
Sabine Ellerbrock/GER def. #2 Jiske Griffioen/NED 6-3/3-6/6-1

*WC MEN'S SINGLES FINAL*
#2 Stephane Houdet/FRA def. #1 Shingto Kunieda/JPN 7-5/5-7/7-6

*WC WOMEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Griffioen/Van Koot (NED/NED) def. Ellerbrock/Walraven (GER/NED) 6-2/6-3

*WC MEN'S DOUBLES FINAL*
#1 Houdet/Kunieda (FRA/JPN) def. #2 Reid/Vink (GBR/NED) 3-6/6-4/10-6



*ALL-TIME SLAM SINGLES TITLES - MEN*
17...Roger Federer
14...Pete Sampras
12...RAFAEL NADAL
12...Roy Emerson
11...Bjorn Borg
11...Rod Laver
10...Bill Tilden

*ALL-TIME ATP SINGLES TITLES*
109...Jimmy Connors
94...Ivan Lendl
77...John McEnroe
76...Roger Federer
64...Pete Sampras
62...Bjorn Borg
62...Guillermo Vilas
60...Andre Agassi
57...RAFAEL NADAL
57...Ilie Nastase

*ALL-TIME CLAY TITLES - MEN*
45...Guillermo Vilas
42...RAFAEL NADAL
40...Thomas Muster
30...Bjorn Borg
30...Manuel Orantes

*ATP SLAM FINAL LEADERS - ACTIVE*
24...Roger Federer (17-7)
17...RAFAEL NADAL (12-5)
10...Novak Djokovic (6-4)
6...Andy Murray (1-5)

*NADAL vs. IN SLAM FINALS*
8...Roger Federer (6-2)
5...Novak Djokovic (2-3)
1...Tomas Berdych (1-0)
1...David Ferrer (1-0)
1...Mariano Puerta (1-0)
1...Robin Soderling (1-0)

*RG MATCH WIN LEADERS - MEN*
59...RAFAEL NADAL
58...Roger Federer
56...Guillermo Vilas
53...Ivan Lendl
51...Andre Agassi

*MOST MEN'S SINGLES SLAM TITLES - OPEN ERA*
8...RAFAEL NADAL (RG)
7...Roger Federer (WI)
7...Pete Sampars (WI)
6...Bjorn Borg (RG)

*MOST CONSECUTIVE SLAM TITLES - MEN*
5...Bjorn Borg, Wimbledon 1976-80
5...Roger Federer, Wimbledon 2003-07
5...Roger Federer, U.S. Open 2004-08
4...Bjorn Borg, Roland Garros 1978-81
4...Pete Sampras, Wimbledon 1997-00
4...Rafael Nadal, Roland Garros 2005-08
4...RAFAEL NADAL, Roland Garros 2010-13

*RECENT RG CHAMPIONS*
[Women's Doubles]
2006 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur
2007 Alicia Molik & Mara Santangelo
2008 Anabel Medina-Garrigues & Virginia Ruano Pascual
2009 Anabel Medina-Garrigues & Virginia Ruano Pascual
2010 Serena Williams & Venus Williams
2011 Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka
2012 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci
2013 Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina

*RG "DOUBLES STAR" WINNERS*
2006 Lisa Raymond & Samantha Stosur, USA/AUS
2007 Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
2008 Anabel Medina-Garrigues & Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP/ESP
2009 Virginia Ruano Pascual, ESP
2010 Katarina Srebotnik, SLO
2011 Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka, CZE/CZE
2012 Sara Errani & Roberta Vinci, ITA/ITA
2013 Ekaterina Makarova & Elena Vesnina, RUS/RUS




TOP QUALIFIER: Anna Schmiedlova/SVK
TOP EARLY-ROUND (1r-2r): #1 Serena Williams/USA
TOP MIDDLE-ROUND (3r-QF): #1 Serena Williams/USA
TOP LATE-ROUND (SF-F): #1 Serena Williams/USA
TOP QUALIFYING MATCH: Q2: #24q Barbora Zahlavova-Strycova/CZE d. Alexandra Panova/RUS 1-6/7-5/10-8
TOP EARLY-RD. MATCH (1r-2r): 1st Rd. - #13 Marion Bartoli/FRA d. Olga Govortsova/BLR 7-6(8)/4-6/7-5
TOP MIDDLE-RD. MATCH (3r-QF): QF - #1 Serena Williams/USA d. Svetlana Kuznetsova/RUS 6-1/3-6/6-3
TOP LATE-RD. MATCH (SF-F/Jr.): SF - #2 Maria Sharapova/RUS d. #3 Victoria Azarenka/BLR 6-1/2-6/6-4
=============================
FIRST VICTORY: #5 Sara Errani/ITA (def. Rus/NED)
FIRST SEED OUT: #11 Nadia Petrova/RUS (lost 1st Rd. to Puig/PUR)
UPSET QUEENS: Slovak Republic
REVELATION LADIES: North America
NATION OF POOR SOULS: Czech Republic (2-8 in 1st Rd.)
LAST QUALIFIERS STANDING: Paula Ormaechea/ARG & Dinah Pfizenmaier/GER (both 3rd Rd.)
LAST WILD CARD STANDING: Virginie Razzano/FRA (3rd Rd.)
LAST PASTRIES STANDING: Marion Bartoli/FRA, Alize Cornet/FRA & Virignie Razzano/FRA (3rd Rd.)
MADEMOISELLE OPPORTUNITY: #3 Victoria Azarenka/BLR
IT "??": [post-Vergeer WC champ] Sabine Ellerbrock/GER
COMEBACK PLAYER: #18 Jelena Jankovic/SRB
CRASH & BURN: #10 Caroline Wozniacki/DEN (4 of 5 pre-4th Rd. slam exits since lost #1 ranking, before which had reached 4th Rd.-or-better 10 of 11 times)
ZOMBIE QUEEN: #13 Marion Bartoli/FRA (1st Rd.: down a break 3 times in 1st & 2 MP in 3rd set; 2nd Rd.: down 4-1 in 1st & a break in 2nd set in 2nd Rd.)
JOIE DE VIVRE: #1 Serena Williams/USA
DOUBLES STARS: Ekaterina Makarova/Elena Vesnina (RUS/RUS)
AMG SLAM FUTILITY UPDATE: lost 1st Rd. to #6 Li Na, once again failing to reach a slam QF in her career (so Anna Smashnova still has a buddy)
JUNIOR BREAKOUT: Belinda Bencic/SUI




All for Day 15. Clay Court Awards this week.