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Rafael Nadal Title Chances in Serious Jeopardy After Rocky Start at French Open
Published: June 2, 2013
But there's something different about his performance this year, something foreboding, something that suggests he won't hoist the trophy come June, 9th. There's something inherently wrong with his game.
Nadal is royalty at Roland Garros, a seven-time winner of the French Open and the most prolific clay-court player in tennis history (tennis-tory?).
His seven titles are the most in the Open Era, according to the Roland Garros official website, one more than Swedish legend Bjorn Borg and more than anyone ever besides Max Decugis, who won eight between 1903 and 1914.
If not for Roger Federer's anomalous triumph in 2009, the missing link between Nadal's victories, Rafa wouldn't just be a seven-time French Open champion...he'd be a seven-time defending French Open champion.
Expectations were tempered for a while because of his rehabilitation, but Nadal's post-injury form has been exquisite.
He made the final of his first tournament back, the VTR Open, without dropping a single set, a performance so good that even an upset in the final couldn't devalue it. He won his next two tournaments—the Brasil Open and Abierto Mexicano Telcel—outright, including a 6-0, 6-2 drubbing of World No. 4 David Ferrer in the final of the latter.
Three months, three tournament titles and one hardcourt victory over Roger Federer later, Nadal's tempered expectations were a thing of the past. He was gonna come to Roland Garros in peak form, like usual, navigate the field with ease, like usual, and hoist the trophy above his head, like usual.
Except for ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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