Rafael Nadal: Munching on Monte Carlo

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: April 19, 2010

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Entering his seventh Monte Carlo event last week in Monaco, Rafael Nadal had one clear and present objective in mind: Begin the clay-court season full of fury, and put to rest all the nonsense of not winning a title in nearly a year.

Well, to Nadal's credit, and to the demise of his opponent's, the Spaniard's destructive and constructive play in Monaco showed us all that his ability and drive to succeed on the crushed red brick in Europe was ever present.

Dismantling a formidable and pesky field, Nadal lost a mere 14 games throughout five matches. Losing his serve a total of three times in the event, Nadal's return of serve prowess hit top form during the week, converting on a mind-boggling 26 of 43 break points throughout his victory. For all you number crunchers out there (and I know you love nothing more), that's a whopping 60 percent success rate from Nadal's racket on the return side of things.

Putting into perspective what all these numbers actually mean, Nadal simply didn't allow his opponents any option of survival when serving, except for the final option of taking a dip into the Mediterranean.

Watching Nadal in action from the time he was 15, I can only recall one other event which he displayed the same type of demonstrative level that he put forth in Monaco—the 2008 French Open.

Taking apart opponent after opponent for all of Paris to behold, Nadal never lost a set, and only conceded three games in the final to Roger Federer.

His level of play was so dominating in finals of France that Nadal was utterly embarrassed to celebrate by rolling around the dirt afterward; he opted instead for an abrupt double fist pump in the air, and a congratulatory smile from his shell-shocked opponent.

Moving on to current day, Nadal's six-straight title in Monaco ushered in a potential white wash of the clay season: Who on earth is going to beat this guy?

His finals opponen...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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