Is Rafa Nadal back? It’s difficult to know. He looks good. He played adequately on Thursday and Friday to get into Saturday’s semifinal showdown with Novak Djokovic at Monte Carlo. BY JAMES BECK
RAFA DOESN’T APPEAR TO BE ON FIRE
Nadal allowed dangerous John Isner to stick around for three sets before closing the big guy out in the round of 16. But only at times did Nadal show the aggression in his game that he so often displays on clay.Big John, of course, hits a big ball and was going for nothing but winners when he could his racket on the ball. Rafa just didn’t appear to be on fire.
Then in the quarterfinals, Nadal crumbled in the face of old nememis David Ferrer’s torrid play in the second set, even after gaining match point at 5-4.At that point, Ferrer had nothing to lose. He already was losing. So, the little warrior applied his typical constant pressure as he always does when he’s on the door of defeat. Nadal’s tentative play and serves couldn’t stop the bullish-like surges of his fellow Spaniard in the second set.
FERRER: IT’S NEVER GOING TO BE EASY
The third set wasn’t as much about Nadal’s play as it was about Ferrer’s surrender. Ferrer was happy. He had demonstrated to his old rival that Nadal could never expect to win without a fight when the two great clay-court champions collided.A 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 win wasn’t a bad thing for Nadal. He needed another long match to groove his strokes for Djokovic. It’s a long red-clay season. It’s still five weeks before the French Open. So, maybe Nadal is pacing himself.
IS NADAL BACK?
The verdict could come against Djokovic. Or it could be delayed a week or two, or even all the way to early June at Roland Garros. Of course, Djokovic is already at his peak after sweeping through the super hard-court events in Indian Wells and Miami.
ROAD THROUGH PARIS IS A LONG ONE
With Barcelona, Madrid and Rome still to be played on red clay before hitting Paris, it’s a long road. About the only important thing in the Monte Carlo semifinal is who gets the upper hand in the rivalry for the time being. The Saturday winner will have the confidence to go all the way . . . through Paris.
Nadal needs a bit of confidence this time, although when he reaches Paris Rafa always seems to feel at home.
—
James Beck is the long-time tennis columnist for the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier newspaper. He can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com. See his columns at http://www.postandcourier.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=search&text=james+beck&facet.filter=&facet.filter=&sortbydate=1
