Sunday, June 8, 2008

A Total Beat Down



by Savannah

I have been watching tennis a very long time. I became a fan when McEnroe, Borg, Connors, Wilander and Lendl played. I've taken breaks from the sport over the years but always came back for Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. And I can say without hesitation that never have I seen a man dominate a tournament the way Rafael Nadal dominated the 2008 French Open. Never dropped a set. And then serving up a bagel - a bagel! - in the Final. The announcers on NBC, Ted Robinson, Mary Carillo, and John McEnroe were left speechless as were the 15,000 fans in attendance. Domination does not begin to explain what happened on Chatrier today.


And let it be said and said over and over. Cakewalk draws do not champions make. The only seed Roger played was Fernando Gonzalez and he dropped a set to him. Gael Monfils finally played up to his talent level and took a set but he was not seeded. Do I think the number three seed should have been in the top half of the draw? Of course. But in the end it didn't make a damn bit of difference.The number three seed has never beaten a top ten player on clay. And let it also be said the number three seed had the easiest stroll of the top three.

But saying all of the above sounds like sour grapes when looked at in retrospect. I think it needs to be said so that the powers that be know not all tennis fans are asleep at the wheel, that we know what they're trying to do, and exult when they fail. Today we saw the man some call clay monster grind all of his rivals into the dust of Roland Garros with an exclamation point. In the final analysis there is nothing else to say.

VAMOS!

16 comments:

Cate said...

I'm completely shocked to silence.

I've never seen anyone bagel Roger since he was 18 or something.

Savannah said...

That's all I kept saying Cate. I couldn't believe he got the bagel. Unreal tennis the entire tournament by Rafa.

I'm not a Fed fan so when is the last time he got bageled? It's been a very long time right?

oddman said...

Absolutely freakin' fabulous awesome supreme effort by my Mallorcan Hero! I was pretty stunned at first, too. Now I'm starting to wake up and celebrate. What a performance. I don't have all the words to describe how truly amazing Rafa is, especially on the clay. What a dialed-in match he played.
What a day - so happy here!

Cate said...

When he was 18 years old. At Queens, first round against Bryon Black. 1999.

Dang.

I'm a fan of both, actually -- so it's bittersweet. I'm glad Rafa made history but devastated for Roger with that score. It was worse than what Novak did. -_-

I guess, it's official. Nobody can beat Rafa on FO clay.

Helen W said...

Count me in as over the moon! I got up at 5:30 am so that I could get all the morning chores done before the start of the match so that I wouldn't miss a second. I expected a straight-sets win by Rafa, but never the total Beat Down. And I don't think there was ONE THING that Roger could have done to avoid it. Rafa has a devatstating answer to everything Roger can throw at him.

I hate to gloat, but that breadstick & that bagel sure are tasty -- after all the dismissive vitriol that has been directed Rafa's way over the years.

On to Wimby!

tristann said...

Watching Roger get bagelled, I was thinking that maybe he has been trying too hard to find a way to beat Rafa on clay, and has thus moved too far away from his own game. It felt like he had no instinctive play left in him and had run out of ideas on what to do. Does anyone else get the same feeling?

As a Rafa fan, I am thrilled at this result. At the beginning of this tournament there was a lot of talk about parity among the top three on clay, especially between Rafa and Djoko. Rafa has really made a statement with these last two matches.

Cate said...

It was a near-perfect FO 2008 for Rafa. In that aspect, I'm so happy.

I have yet to wake up from that bagel, though -- this is the Roger fan in me speaking.

I think their Borg connection is reason enough to celebrate.

Savannah said...

Cate thanks for the intel re the last time Roger was handed a bagel.

Helen, I'm still excited. I'm not going negative when today is such a positive day for Rafa. Stunning JMac, Carillo and Robinson into silence during that last set makes it even more perfect for me.

Strangely I didn't want to punch Carillo in the throat much during NBC's coverage. I wonder if I'm getting soft in my old age?

Savannah said...

And wasn't it fun to hear JMac fumble as his vaunted strategy for Roger went down in flames?

UTP said...

A complete annihilation...I just cant seem to find the right word for what happened today...

UTP said...

Federer is a better player than Sampras on clay...and he is certainly not as bad as Nadal made him look today...

It was more about Nadal - The Perfectionist...today....he was just not making any mistakes...

Cate said...

tristann -- I felt the same way. It was sorta like... It wasn't ROGER out there on the court.

Roger's last bagel on a GS was 2001 French Open (not 100% sure of the year but it was the FO) against Pat Rafter.

Craig Hickman said...

I'm still speechless.

Helen W said...

This is off-topic, but here is an interesting article from Sportingo on the subject of the ATP Schedule. As the various parties will be meeting during Wimbledon, there may be more to follow.

oddman said...

Savannah said: And wasn't it fun to hear JMac fumble as his vaunted strategy for Roger went down in flames?

Yes! Hee hee hee hee! Ok, sorry, a little restraint is what I need here. My gosh, but that Rafa had those commentators sitting there with nothing to say. (giggle)

I did enjoy this all. So nice to see Rafa shine, as we all know hardcourt season looms, and as we Rafatards all know the tough stuff starts up again for our man. Methinks this result bodes very well for Wimbledon. Rafa's game is getting more aggressive, less relying on defense only, that backhand is fierce, the serve is better, he's staying in the court, not way back behind the baseline.... Vamos, Rafa!

Helen W said...

Those commentators had lots of things to talk about, if they had been capable of switching gears from fawning over Federer to taking note of all the improvements that Rafa has made in his game. Heck, Roger had more to say about Rafa's game than those three did.

In addition to all the points you noted oddman, Roger pointed out that he served OK but Rafa's returns were very good. He also noted that, because of Rafa's open stance, it's like playing someone with 2 forehands.

All these things will improve his all-court game.

I would have loved to see Robbie Koenig & Jason Goodall, the fawning Federer commentators of ATP Masters Series TV, put into the same position as the NBC crew.